Ranger Investment Management L.P. Acquires Shares of 257,596 Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Ranger Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 257,596 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,424,000. Ligand Pharmaceuticals comprises about 5.2% of Ranger Investment Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position 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 period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $75,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,040.0% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 342 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND stock opened at $286.29 on Monday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $156.91 and a one year high of $326.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 30.96 and a current ratio of 31.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $295.88 and its 200 day moving average is $242.18. The firm has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a PE ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.13.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.40. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 67.88% and a return on equity of 20.06%. The business had revenue of $63.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $289.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup began 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, Bank of America boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $335.75.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.88, for a total transaction of $1,151,790.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,765,982.72. This represents a 14.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jason Haas sold 7,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.81, for a total value of $2,090,077.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,165,676.61. The trade was a 64.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 71,976 shares of company stock worth $20,075,721 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

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.