Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Position Boosted by Caxton Associates LLP

Caxton Associates LLP boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 28.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 18,651 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,143 shares during the quarter. Caxton Associates LLP’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 25.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at about $344,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 55,327 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,817,000 after buying an additional 4,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 176.2% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after buying an additional 23,553 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.28, for a total value of $1,566,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,514 shares in the company, valued at $13,005,505.92. This trade represents a 10.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.88, for a total value of $1,151,790.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,969 shares in the company, valued at $6,765,982.72. This represents a 14.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 35,698 shares of company stock valued at $9,019,252 over the last 90 days. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ LGND opened at $302.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.10. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $129.55 and a 1 year high of $326.63. The business’s fifty day moving average is $270.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $227.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The business’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on LGND. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company’s product offerings center around several core platforms.