Fisher Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 48.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,297 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 16,035 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.28% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $3,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 325,727 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,263,000 after acquiring an additional 121,049 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 205,208 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,656,000 after purchasing an additional 20,888 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 159,793 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $9,575,000 after buying an additional 4,887 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 157,187 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $9,419,000 after buying an additional 2,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 136,229 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,163,000 after buying an additional 40,958 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on LGND. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $73.22 on Wednesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $49.24 and a twelve month high of $94.57. The company has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50 day moving average is $74.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.05.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $3.01. The firm had revenue of $30.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.92 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 37.80% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,893 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.30, for a total value of $140,649.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 28,926 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,201.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.