Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Has $1.11 Million Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lessened its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 8.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,180 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,164 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned about 0.07% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $1,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,884,112 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $137,729,000 after purchasing an additional 7,598 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 661,298 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,230,000 after purchasing an additional 46,906 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 659,434 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,097,000 after purchasing an additional 191,870 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 124.3% in the second quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 514,946 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,389,000 after purchasing an additional 285,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.6% during the first quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC now owns 490,752 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,874,000 after acquiring an additional 62,701 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total value of $159,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,397,392.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 18,245 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total value of $1,797,132.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 68,368 shares in the company, valued at $6,734,248. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,392.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,291 shares of company stock valued at $3,281,620 over the last quarter. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Benchmark boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Craig Hallum boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $102.80 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $102.83 and a 200-day moving average of $87.22. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $49.24 and a 1 year high of $112.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88 and a beta of 1.01.

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