Congress Asset Management Co. Buys 17,414 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 604,038 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,414 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 3.36% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $60,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of LGND. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,876,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $134,021,000 after buying an additional 24,653 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $809,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 224.1% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,841 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 24,784 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 155.3% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 73,161 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,348,000 after purchasing an additional 44,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 202,842 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $17,091,000 after purchasing an additional 13,595 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LGND shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Craig Hallum raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $157.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $132.83.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 18,245 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total value of $1,797,132.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 68,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,734,248. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 18,245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $1,797,132.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 68,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,734,248. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 11,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.61, for a total transaction of $1,202,792.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 49,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,228,751.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,613 shares of company stock worth $5,255,692 over the last 90 days. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND stock traded down $2.24 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $107.57. The stock had a trading volume of 17,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,967. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.30. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $50.87 and a 52-week high of $115.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95 and a beta of 1.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. The firm had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.04 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.