Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Has $121,000 Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 1,289.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,153 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,070 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 2,862 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,297 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 4,034 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LGND. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza purchased 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $104.06 per share, with a total value of $156,090.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,932 shares in the company, valued at $2,906,603.92. This trade represents a 5.67% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total value of $104,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,903 shares in the company, valued at $3,421,912. This represents a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of LGND stock opened at $114.97 on Tuesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $77.53 and a 1 year high of $129.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $106.86 and its 200-day moving average is $110.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.15 and a beta of 0.83.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $45.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.84 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 7.83% and a negative net margin of 73.07%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company 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.