2,205 Shares in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Bought by Cetera Trust Company N.A

Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,205 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $157,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 95.1% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 441 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $200,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17.7% during the third quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,386 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,893 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.30, for a total value of $140,649.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,926 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,201.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 10.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND opened at $68.53 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $74.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.86. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $49.24 and a 1 year high of $94.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.92 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.55. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 37.80%. The company had revenue of $28.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company 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.