Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Cuts Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,555 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 356 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $7,655,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,066 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 7,581 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,435 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 659,434 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,097,000 after purchasing an additional 191,870 shares during the period. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $107,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total transaction of $159,585.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,397,392.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total value of $159,585.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,397,392.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 18,245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total value of $1,797,132.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 68,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,734,248. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 51,613 shares of company stock worth $5,255,692 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LGND. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Benchmark boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Craig Hallum increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of LGND stock opened at $97.37 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $49.24 and a one year high of $112.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.53.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The business had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

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.