Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND is Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s Largest Position

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lowered its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 279,627 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 14,863 shares during the quarter. Ligand Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 2.9% of Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $52,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,103 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $253.25 on Tuesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $110.00 and a one year high of $259.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 21.28 and a quick ratio of 20.95. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $226.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of 34.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total transaction of $1,651,302.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,273,043.98. This represents a 56.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 1,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.50, for a total value of $352,012.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 41,786 shares in the company, valued at $9,339,171. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,020 shares of company stock worth $8,216,533. 7.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company’s product offerings center around several core platforms.