Fisher Asset Management LLC Acquires 16,035 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 48.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,297 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,035 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LGND. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 325,727 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,263,000 after purchasing an additional 121,049 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 205,208 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,656,000 after buying an additional 20,888 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 98.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 37,173 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,655,000 after buying an additional 18,472 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 356.2% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,012 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 1,571 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 136,229 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,163,000 after acquiring an additional 40,958 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LGND. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ LGND opened at $73.22 on Wednesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $49.24 and a 1-year high of $94.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $74.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $3.01. The firm had revenue of $30.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.92 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 37.80%. The business’s revenue was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

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.