7,200 Shares in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Acquired by Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC

Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,200 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,275,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 25.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $344,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after buying an additional 809 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 55,327 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,817,000 after acquiring an additional 4,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 176.2% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,882,000 after acquiring an additional 23,553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.58, for a total transaction of $88,533.86. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 43,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,275,925.32. This represents a 1.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.31, for a total transaction of $339,711.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,931,085.66. The trade was a 6.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,205 shares of company stock valued at $608,923. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LGND has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark increased their price target 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 lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.5%

LGND opened at $198.22 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $196.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.81. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $93.58 and a 1-year high of $212.49. The company has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.76 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 24.69, a quick ratio of 24.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $1.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 19.34% and a return on equity of 5.71%. The company had revenue of $86.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 123.0% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.400-7.650 EPS. Analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.