Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Bought by Driehaus Capital Management LLC

Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 70.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 162,771 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 67,033 shares during the quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $17,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LGND. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 77,207 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,273,000 after purchasing an additional 6,143 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 107,439 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,512,000 after buying an additional 2,533 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 95,704 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,255,000 after buying an additional 1,759 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 282,957 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,319,000 after acquiring an additional 20,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,373 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,879 shares in the company, valued at $2,171,651.37. This trade represents a 20.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND stock opened at $102.51 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $77.43 and a one year high of $129.90. The firm has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 40.84 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $106.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.42.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $45.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.84 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 29.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LGND. Stifel Nicolaus began 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 on the stock. StockNews.com raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.43.

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.