Penn Capital Management Company LLC lessened its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND – Free Report) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 98,848 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 8,434 shares during the quarter. Ligand Pharmaceuticals comprises about 1.5% of Penn Capital Management Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Penn Capital Management Company LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $18,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 130,858 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,741,000 after buying an additional 21,932 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 114.5% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 354 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 43,742 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,270,000 after buying an additional 14,065 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 26,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,961,000 after purchasing an additional 9,944 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 77.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 418 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.71.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.6%
LGND opened at $235.33 on Wednesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $98.89 and a 12 month high of $247.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 21.28 and a quick ratio of 20.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $216.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $203.53.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.87, for a total transaction of $207,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 32,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,816,680.91. This trade represents a 2.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.31, for a total value of $1,156,550.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,572,070.42. This represents a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,949 shares of company stock valued at $8,014,056. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.
About Ligand Pharmaceuticals
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.
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