Granahan Investment Management LLC Trims Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Granahan Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,165 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,885 shares during the quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 143,067 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,050,000 after purchasing an additional 31,081 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 26,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,961,000 after purchasing an additional 9,944 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $93,809,000 after purchasing an additional 266,304 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 130,858 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,741,000 after purchasing an additional 21,932 shares during the period. Finally, One Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $1,756,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.5%

LGND stock opened at $300.53 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $129.55 and a 52-week high of $326.63. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.78, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $271.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.46.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total transaction of $544,830.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 33,629 shares in the company, valued at $8,541,766. This trade represents a 6.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 102,580 shares in the company, valued at $25,645,000. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,698 shares of company stock worth $9,019,252. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.