Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on LGND. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.43.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $104.97 on Tuesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $67.72 and a twelve month high of $129.90. The firm has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 41.82 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.07.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $575,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,171,651.37. This represents a 20.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after buying an additional 7,247 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 428,270 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,874,000 after acquiring an additional 22,495 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,142 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 550.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,749 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 10,789 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.