Ashford Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Ashford Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 213,778 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 30,652 shares during the period. Ligand Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 4.5% of Ashford Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Ashford Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $40,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $52,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total value of $1,651,302.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,273,043.98. This represents a 56.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,125,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 102,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,645,000. The trade was a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,020 shares of company stock valued at $8,216,533. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LGND shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Bank of America started coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $255.25 on Wednesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $110.00 and a 1-year high of $259.03. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $227.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.44. The company has a current ratio of 21.28, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.63, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company’s product offerings center around several core platforms.