Strs Ohio Sells 300 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Strs Ohio lowered its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio owned 0.06% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 95.1% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 441 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $200,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 57.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,567 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,675 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND stock opened at $71.00 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.82 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $49.24 and a 12 month high of $94.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $74.93 and its 200 day moving average is $67.95.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $28.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.54 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 37.80% and a return on equity of 11.98%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LGND has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,893 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.30, for a total transaction of $140,649.90. Following the transaction, the director now 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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.