Arizona State Retirement System Has $318,000 Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND – Get Rating) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,763 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LGND. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 10.6% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 1,341 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 54.9% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,617 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $969,000 after acquiring an additional 3,053 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 46,027 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,178,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 15,834 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,781,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 378,118 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,537,000 after acquiring an additional 5,450 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.16% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND stock opened at $75.34 on Tuesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $57.77 and a 1 year high of $109.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 59.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50-day moving average is $74.50 and its 200-day moving average is $71.94.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The biotechnology company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $1.39. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 3.44%. The business had revenue of $43.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on LGND shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. TheStreet raised shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.67.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 6,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.56, for a total value of $490,596.48. Following the transaction, the director now owns 42,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,231,827.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 6,408 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.56, for a total value of $490,596.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 42,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,231,827.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 4,444 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $343,076.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 38,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,971,273.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,560 shares of company stock valued at $1,348,898. 10.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company, which engages in the development and acquisition of technologies that help pharmaceutical companies to discover and develop medicines. Its products include evomela, IV voriconazole, duavee, viviant/conbriza, nexterone, and noxafil-IV. The company was founded by Ronald M.