Lisanti Capital Growth LLC Boosts Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Lisanti Capital Growth LLC boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 178.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,002 shares during the period. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC owned about 0.15% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $5,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,010,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,922.9% in the third quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 402,494 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $71,298,000 after acquiring an additional 382,597 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $255,000. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,275,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $237,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on LGND. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.58, for a total transaction of $88,533.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,275,925.32. This trade represents a 1.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.31, for a total transaction of $339,711.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,931,085.66. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,205 shares of company stock worth $608,923. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $192.10 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $93.58 and a 1 year high of $212.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 24.30 and a current ratio of 24.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $195.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.80 and a beta of 0.97.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $1.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 19.34% and a return on equity of 5.71%. The business had revenue of $86.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.