Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 115.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 266,304 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $93,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,926 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $19,295,000 after acquiring an additional 2,860 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,915 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,653,000 after buying an additional 4,538 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 143,067 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,050,000 after buying an additional 31,081 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 11.7% in the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 59,131 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,474,000 after buying an additional 6,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.7% in the third quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 82,991 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,701,000 after buying an additional 11,858 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.06, for a total transaction of $1,135,300.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,382 shares in the company, valued at $9,396,196.92. This represents a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 1,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.50, for a total value of $352,012.50. Following the sale, the director owned 41,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,339,171. This trade represents a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 18,968 shares of company stock worth $4,163,441 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of LGND stock opened at $248.24 on Thursday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $110.00 and a 1 year high of $257.19. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.01. The company has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of 33.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LGND has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.71.

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.