Sei Investments Co. Has $15.01 Million Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 62.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,188 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 28,820 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $15,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG increased its position in 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 buying an additional 31,081 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 9,944 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 130,858 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,741,000 after buying an additional 21,932 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $93,809,000 after acquiring an additional 266,304 shares during the period. Finally, Future Fund LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,755,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total value of $544,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,541,766. The trade was a 6.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.88, for a total transaction of $1,151,790.08. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,231 shares of company stock worth $7,754,451. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $296.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 21.28 and a quick ratio of 20.95. The firm has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $278.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.36. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $129.55 and a one year high of $326.63.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $387.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.00.

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.