Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 8,200 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $586,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 73.3% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,690 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 6,215 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 15.3% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 11,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. 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 in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 4,650 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capula Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 90.5% in the third quarter. Capula Management Ltd now owns 14,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $893,000 after acquiring an additional 7,080 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $144.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.33.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,893 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.30, for a total value of $140,649.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,149,201.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $70.57 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.66 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $74.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.19. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $49.24 and a 12 month high of $94.57.

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

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.