Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $682,000 Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,363 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 44.3% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 372,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,312,000 after acquiring an additional 114,436 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 503.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 94,659 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $9,793,000 after purchasing an additional 78,973 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 100,638 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,783,000 after buying an additional 41,064 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,410,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 428,270 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,874,000 after buying an additional 22,495 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total value of $575,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,171,651.37. The trade was a 20.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ LGND opened at $111.67 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.49 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.95. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $67.72 and a 52-week high of $129.90.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company 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.