Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ Buys New Shares in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LGND. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 68.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 593 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 102,874 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $10,816,000 after buying an additional 3,284 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 99,537 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $10,465,000 after acquiring an additional 7,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 277,791 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.44, for a total value of $83,798.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 45,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,084,669.20. This represents a 1.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $1,708,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 69,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,835,254.09. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,934 shares of company stock valued at $1,867,674. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $189.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of -47.36 and a beta of 0.95. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $93.58 and a 12 month high of $194.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.14.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $47.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.87 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 9.21% and a negative net margin of 40.44%.The firm’s revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.000 EPS. Analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on LGND shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.50.

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.