Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Shares Acquired by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 9.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,954 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 94.6% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,678 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,910,000 after buying an additional 13,456 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at about $2,217,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at about $265,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,516 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 435.5% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,059 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 3,301 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Jason Aryeh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $1,708,100.00. Following the sale, the director owned 69,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,835,254.09. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.05, for a total transaction of $89,220.35. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 44,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,518,537.40. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,401 shares of company stock valued at $1,956,894. 7.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ LGND opened at $203.52 on Wednesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $93.58 and a 1 year high of $212.49. The company has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of -50.88 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $187.19 and a 200 day moving average of $150.32.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $1.13. The business had revenue of $86.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.71 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 9.21% and a negative net margin of 40.44%.The company’s revenue was up 123.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.400-7.650 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LGND. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $185.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.33.

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.