Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $700,000 Stock Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 13.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,658 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $29,652,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,085,627 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $223,475,000 after buying an additional 115,005 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 95.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 185,402 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $19,866,000 after purchasing an additional 90,743 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% during the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 162,771 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $17,441,000 after purchasing an additional 67,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,612.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 62,348 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,555,000 after purchasing an additional 61,996 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza bought 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $104.06 per share, for a total transaction of $156,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,906,603.92. This trade represents a 5.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 9,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $105.20 per share, with a total value of $1,000,452.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,961,816.80. The trade was a 6.27% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $112.50 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 44.82 and a beta of 0.83. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $77.53 and a twelve month high of $129.90.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.84 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 29.68%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LGND has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.14.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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.