RFG Advisory LLC Makes New Investment in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,544 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $508,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LGND. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,040.0% in the fourth 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 period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,765,982.72. The trade was 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 Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 102,580 shares in the company, valued at $25,645,000. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,165 shares of company stock valued at $8,553,493. 7.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $314.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $240.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.18. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $111.71 and a fifty-two week high of $314.80. The firm has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on LGND. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on 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 boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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.