Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Cuts Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,148 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,632 shares during the quarter. Ligand Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 1.2% of Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $107,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on LGND shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.80.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of LGND opened at $102.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91 and a beta of 1.00. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $49.24 and a 52-week high of $112.13. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.55.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.04 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 7.91%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 57.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total value of $989,121.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,139,647.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total value of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,244,386.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total transaction of $989,121.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at $5,139,647.94. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 51,613 shares of company stock worth $5,255,692 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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.