New York State Common Retirement Fund Increases Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99,537 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,119 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.52% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $10,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $29,652,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,085,627 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $223,475,000 after buying an additional 115,005 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 95.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 185,402 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $19,866,000 after buying an additional 90,743 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% during the fourth quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 162,771 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $17,441,000 after buying an additional 67,033 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,612.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 62,348 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,555,000 after acquiring an additional 61,996 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.1%

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $139.10 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $112.10 and a 200-day moving average of $111.00. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $90.29 and a 52-week high of $139.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.54 and a beta of 0.84.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.84 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 7.83% and a negative net margin of 73.07%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $116,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 46,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,807,000. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.08, for a total value of $57,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 31,903 shares in the company, valued at $3,639,494.24. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,934 shares of company stock valued at $335,060 over the last 90 days. 7.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.