Fifth Third Bancorp Purchases 5,349 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 3,519.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,501 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,349 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,098,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,050.0% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $300.53 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $271.93 and its 200 day moving average is $228.46. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $129.55 and a 52 week high of $326.63. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.78, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.10.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The firm had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on LGND shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.00.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total transaction of $544,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,541,766. This represents a 6.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.88, for a total value of $1,151,790.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,765,982.72. The trade was a 14.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 35,698 shares of company stock valued at $9,019,252 in the last quarter. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.