Future Fund LLC Grows Stock Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Future Fund LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 49.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,560 shares during the quarter. Future Fund LLC owned 0.07% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $2,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LGND. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,232,000 after buying an additional 22,629 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 516,464 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $97,648,000 after acquiring an additional 138,169 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $93,809,000 after acquiring an additional 266,304 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 493,589 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $93,336,000 after acquiring an additional 19,400 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 429,004 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $81,112,000 after purchasing an additional 61,209 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $303.39 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $263.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.59. 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 stock has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 41.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.10. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $129.55 and a 1 year high of $326.63.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total value of $544,830.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,629 shares in the company, valued at $8,541,766. The trade was a 6.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total value of $1,651,302.38. Following the sale, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,698 shares of company stock valued at $9,019,252. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company 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.