Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Shares Sold by Impax Asset Management Group plc

Impax Asset Management Group plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 7.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 260,208 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 20,000 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned about 1.35% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $29,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Simplex Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $61,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.1% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 745 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $216,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $89,220.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 44,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,518,537.40. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 69,289 shares in the company, valued at $11,835,254.09. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 11,401 shares of company stock valued at $1,956,894 over the last 90 days. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LGND. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $185.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $205.61 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.40 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $180.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.99. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $93.58 and a fifty-two week high of $212.49.

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