Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Decreases Stock Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,368 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 190 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.05% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LGND. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 95.1% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 441 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $157,000. Advisor Resource Council bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $200,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.2 %

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $70.46 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.19. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $49.24 and a 52 week high of $94.57. The stock has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.55. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 37.80%. The firm had revenue of $28.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.54 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,893 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.30, for a total value of $140,649.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,149,201.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LGND has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.33.

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.