Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Shares Sold by Granite Investment Partners LLC

Granite Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 6.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 124,462 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 8,667 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $14,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Simplex Trading LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $61,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.1% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 745 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $207,000. Finally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.05, for a total value of $89,220.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 44,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,518,537.40. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 10,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $1,708,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 69,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,835,254.09. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 10,934 shares of company stock worth $1,881,119 over the last quarter. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LGND has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $185.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Benchmark lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $196.97 on Tuesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $93.58 and a one year high of $212.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of -49.24 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $189.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.08.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $1.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 9.21% and a negative net margin of 40.44%.The company had revenue of $86.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 123.0% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.400-7.650 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.