Castleark Management LLC Acquires 2,060 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Castleark Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 66,736 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,060 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $12,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,789,955,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,232,000 after purchasing an additional 22,629 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the 4th 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 493,589 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $93,336,000 after purchasing an additional 19,400 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 429,004 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $81,112,000 after purchasing an additional 61,209 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 1,575 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.50, for a total transaction of $352,012.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 41,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,339,171. This trade represents a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 102,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,645,000. The trade was a 4.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,559 shares of company stock valued at $6,565,231. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on LGND shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $255.54 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $225.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 21.28 and a quick ratio of 20.95. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $110.00 and a 1 year high of $259.03.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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.