Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $96.67 on Monday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $67.72 and a one year high of $129.90. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.51 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.95.

Insider Activity

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $575,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,171,651.37. This trade represents a 20.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,085,627 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $223,475,000 after acquiring an additional 115,005 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,015,023 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $108,757,000 after purchasing an additional 5,929 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 723,019 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $77,470,000 after buying an additional 16,003 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 707,414 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,805,000 after buying an additional 18,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 621,482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $66,592,000 after purchasing an additional 17,444 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.