Bessemer Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 358.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,859 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 84,349 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $21,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $303.39 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $263.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.59. The stock has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.17, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.10. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $129.55 and a 1-year high of $326.63.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LGND shares. Bank of America raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.00.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total transaction of $544,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,629 shares in the company, valued at $8,541,766. This trade represents a 6.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,125,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 102,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,645,000. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 35,698 shares of company stock valued at $9,019,252 in the last three months. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.