Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 425,230 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 7,762 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $84,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,050.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,040.0% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 342 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.9%

LGND stock opened at $296.29 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $278.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $231.36. The company has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 21.28 and a quick ratio of 20.95. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $129.55 and a 12 month high of $326.63.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LGND. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 4,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,273,043.98. This trade represents a 56.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.88, for a total value of $1,151,790.08. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,765,982.72. This trade represents a 14.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,231 shares of company stock worth $7,754,451. Insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

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.