Rhumbline Advisers Buys 1,077 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 61,332 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,077 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.34% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $5,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $107,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of LGND opened at $104.77 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $49.24 and a 12-month high of $112.13.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.04 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The company’s revenue was up 57.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total transaction of $159,585.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,392.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total value of $159,585.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,392.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 11,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.61, for a total transaction of $1,202,792.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 49,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,228,751.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,291 shares of company stock valued at $3,281,620. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LGND. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Benchmark raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.00.

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.