Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Purchases 3,940 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 283,567 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,940 shares during the quarter. Ligand Pharmaceuticals makes up about 3.1% of Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $56,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.28, for a total transaction of $1,566,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,005,505.92. This represents a 10.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total value of $544,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,541,766. This trade represents a 6.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 35,698 shares of company stock worth $9,019,252 in the last quarter. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND opened at $300.53 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $271.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $228.46. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $129.55 and a 52-week high of $326.63. The company has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.78, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LGND has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.00.

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.