Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Lowers Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 60,737 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 3,649 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $11,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,789,955,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $93,809,000 after buying an additional 266,304 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 676.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 254,805 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,136,000 after buying an additional 221,996 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 64.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 378,295 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $67,011,000 after buying an additional 148,437 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 385,028.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 146,349 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,670,000 after buying an additional 146,311 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,125,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 102,580 shares in the company, valued at $25,645,000. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total value of $1,651,302.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,981 shares in the company, valued at $1,273,043.98. This represents a 56.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,698 shares of company stock valued at $7,452,852. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LGND shares. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.4%

LGND stock opened at $319.55 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.93. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $112.41 and a 12 month high of $320.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 43.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.10.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $51.72 million during 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%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.