Walleye Capital LLC Takes $2.06 Million Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 10,333 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,063,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $344,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,121,000 after buying an additional 809 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% in 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 valued at $5,817,000 after acquiring an additional 4,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 176.2% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after acquiring an additional 23,553 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on LGND. Bank of America increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $387.00 target price for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total value of $544,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,541,766. This trade represents a 6.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total value of $1,651,302.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,273,043.98. The trade was a 56.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,698 shares of company stock valued at $9,019,252. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.7%

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $302.15 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $270.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $227.95. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $129.55 and a twelve month high of $326.63. The company has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.10.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The company had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 EPS for the current 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.