Ranger Investment Management L.P. Has $48.77 Million Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Ranger Investment Management L.P. decreased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 8.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 275,340 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 24,685 shares during the period. Ligand Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 3.4% of Ranger Investment Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Ranger Investment Management L.P. owned 1.41% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $48,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Simplex Trading LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.1% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 745 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 29th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Benchmark lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $196.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 24.30, a current ratio of 24.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $194.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.77. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $93.58 and a 52 week high of $212.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 92.87 and a beta of 1.14.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $1.13. The firm had revenue of $86.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.71 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 19.34% and a return on equity of 5.71%. The business’s revenue was up 123.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.31, for a total value of $339,711.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 26,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,931,085.66. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.91, for a total value of $91,489.97. Following the transaction, the director owned 43,187 shares in the company, valued at $8,460,765.17. The trade was a 1.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 3,205 shares of company stock worth $611,192 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.00% 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.