Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Sold by AMI Asset Management Corp

AMI Asset Management Corp cut its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,931 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,688 shares during the period. AMI Asset Management Corp owned about 0.23% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $2,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,066 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% during the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 35,699 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $107,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.04, for a total transaction of $830,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,843,903.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.04, for a total transaction of $830,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,843,903.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Nancy Ryan Gray sold 934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.20, for a total transaction of $77,708.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,633 shares in the company, valued at $468,665.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,882 in the last three months. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND traded down $2.09 on Thursday, reaching $82.70. 63,143 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 109,883. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $49.24 and a fifty-two week high of $94.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $81.15 and its 200-day moving average is $76.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on LGND. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, June 28th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $144.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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.