Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Has $1.17 Million Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC cut its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,393 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 386 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC owned 0.09% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $1,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $157,000. Calamos Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $586,000. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP now owns 83,121 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,937,000 after buying an additional 21,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $205,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,893 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.30, for a total transaction of $140,649.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 28,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,149,201.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $71.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.82 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $74.93 and its 200 day moving average is $67.95. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $49.24 and a 1 year high of $94.57.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $28.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.54 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 37.80% and a return on equity of 11.98%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LGND shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company 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.