BTC Capital Management Inc. Buys Shares of 4,605 Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

BTC Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,605 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $107,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 356.2% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,012 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&R Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $146,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.04, for a total value of $830,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,843,903.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.04, for a total transaction of $830,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,843,903.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew E. Korenberg sold 3,440 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.54, for a total transaction of $290,817.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 100,421 shares in the company, valued at $8,489,591.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,403 shares of company stock worth $2,150,882. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $79.39 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.43. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $49.24 and a fifty-two week high of $94.57. The company has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $3.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 8.52% and a net margin of 79.30%. The company had revenue of $30.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.92 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

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.