Granite Investment Partners LLC Sells 2,463 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Granite Investment Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 115,538 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 2,463 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.61% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $12,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 119.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 406 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 825.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 904 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total value of $575,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.43.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of LGND stock opened at $104.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 41.54 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $110.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.98. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $67.72 and a 52 week high of $129.90.

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.