Advisors Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 26.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,841 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 68.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 593 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,289.2% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,153 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northeast Financial Consultants Inc purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.08, for a total transaction of $57,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 31,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,639,494.24. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $116,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 46,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,807,000. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,368 shares of company stock valued at $311,153 in the last three months. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on LGND shares. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Benchmark upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $167.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $176.50.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ LGND opened at $167.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.77 and a beta of 0.96. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $93.58 and a twelve month high of $169.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $145.07 and a 200 day moving average of $120.81.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 9.21% and a negative net margin of 40.44%.The business had revenue of $47.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.000 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.