Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Bought by Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 8.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,032 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 14,344 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 32,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,390,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,627 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,066 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,005,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LGND shares. Craig Hallum upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.25.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ LGND traded up $1.69 on Monday, reaching $101.45. 104,750 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 150,688. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $49.24 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $86.21 and a 200 day moving average of $78.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.62 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $3.01. The firm had revenue of $30.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.92 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 79.30% and a return on equity of 8.52%. The company’s revenue was down 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,873 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.01, for a total transaction of $505,136.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,090.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.01, for a total value of $505,136.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,090.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew E. Korenberg sold 3,440 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.54, for a total value of $290,817.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 100,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,489,591.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,882. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company 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.