New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 9.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,509 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 2,441 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.12% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $4,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LGND. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,874 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $181,000. 1492 Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. 1492 Capital Management LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $1,737,000. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 11.5% in the first quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,390 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total transaction of $1,651,302.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,981 shares in the company, valued at $1,273,043.98. This represents a 56.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total value of $544,830.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,541,766. The trade was a 6.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,698 shares of company stock worth $9,019,252. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on LGND shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.29.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of LGND stock opened at $314.88 on Thursday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $116.44 and a twelve month high of $326.63. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $252.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.