11,000 Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Shares Purchased by JW Asset Management LLC

JW Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 275.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 11,000 shares during the quarter. Ligand Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 1.9% of JW Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. JW Asset Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $4,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $201,623,000 after acquiring an additional 14,491 shares in the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $81,424,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the first quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 283,567 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $56,614,000 after acquiring an additional 3,940 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 41.4% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 170,089 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $53,131,000 after acquiring an additional 49,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $41,429,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND opened at $316.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 141.19, a PEG ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50-day moving average of $301.33 and a 200-day moving average of $257.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.22. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $175.89 and a 1-year high of $326.63.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $78.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.00 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 5.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 31.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on LGND shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $402.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $358.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Barclays upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $326.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $355.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Jason Aryeh sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.05, for a total transaction of $960,150.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 105,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,757,593.80. This trade represents a 2.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Martine Zimmermann sold 1,200 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.00, for a total value of $342,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,645. The trade was a 23.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 21,593 shares of company stock worth $6,585,447 over the last quarter. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company that works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners to develop and commercialize medicines. Rather than focusing primarily on selling drugs directly, Ligand licenses technologies and drug-development assets and may receive royalties and other payments from partner programs. Its technologies include Captisol, a formulation platform designed to improve the solubility and delivery of certain medicines. Ligand also holds economic interests in a portfolio of partnered products and drug candidates across multiple therapeutic areas.