Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Shares Sold by Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC lowered its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 93,325 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 62,181 shares during the quarter. Ligand Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 3.0% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $29,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $201,623,000 after buying an additional 14,491 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 283,567 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $56,614,000 after buying an additional 3,940 shares during the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $81,424,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 157,865 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,518,000 after buying an additional 37,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $41,429,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $402.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $345.00 to $357.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $326.00 price target (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $358.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, September 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $354.75.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.6%

LGND opened at $314.15 on Tuesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $175.89 and a 12 month high of $326.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 30.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $299.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.73. The company has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 140.25, a P/E/G ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.16.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 5.22%. The company had revenue of $78.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 31.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Martine Zimmermann sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.00, for a total transaction of $342,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,645. This represents a 23.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.07, for a total value of $1,520,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 31,854 shares in the company, valued at $9,685,845.78. The trade was a 13.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 57,372 shares of company stock valued at $16,956,445. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile