Impax Asset Management Group plc Has $35.47 Million Stock Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Impax Asset Management Group plc lowered its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 23.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 200,208 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 60,000 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $35,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplex Trading LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $61,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LGND shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Six 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of LGND stock opened at $187.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.35 and a beta of 1.14. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $93.58 and a 1 year high of $212.49. The company has a current ratio of 24.69, a quick ratio of 24.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,931,085.66. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.91, for a total value of $91,489.97. Following the sale, the director directly owned 43,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,460,765.17. This trade represents a 1.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,205 shares of company stock valued at $611,192. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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.