Aquatic Capital Management LLC Has $75,000 Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 21.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 703 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 197 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $75,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 7,247 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 397,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,614,000 after purchasing an additional 24,921 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 10,739 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $975,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LGND shares. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $575,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,171,651.37. The trade was a 20.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $106.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of 42.37 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $107.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.56. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $72.61 and a one year high of $129.90.

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.