Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Acquires 11,858 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 16.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,991 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,858 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned about 0.42% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $14,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Acuitas Investments LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 382,597 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 676.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 254,805 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,136,000 after acquiring an additional 221,996 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 541,845 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $95,982,000 after acquiring an additional 202,103 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 148,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2,096.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 125,769 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $22,279,000 after acquiring an additional 120,043 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.35, for a total transaction of $1,031,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,607,918.15. This represents a 11.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 3,057 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $687,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,727,250. The trade was a 12.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,915 shares of company stock worth $5,165,939. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $202.91 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 21.98, a current ratio of 22.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 34.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.17. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $93.58 and a 12-month high of $227.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $196.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $189.45.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $59.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.59 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 46.42% and a return on equity of 13.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LGND. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup began 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 for the company. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $231.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.00.

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.