Isthmus Partners LLC Has $3.86 Million Stock Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Isthmus Partners LLC reduced its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 20.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 38,554 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 9,622 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,884,112 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $137,729,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 708,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,707,000 after purchasing an additional 44,543 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 604,038 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $60,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,414 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% in the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 545,821 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,631,000 after purchasing an additional 30,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 44.3% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 372,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,312,000 after purchasing an additional 114,436 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 2,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total transaction of $199,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,244,386.40. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 6,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.10, for a total value of $653,227.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,285,885.70. This represents a 11.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,322 shares of company stock valued at $1,974,073 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ LGND opened at $122.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.82 and a beta of 0.99. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $57.00 and a 52 week high of $129.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $109.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LGND has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $157.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.83.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.