American Century Companies Inc. Has $2.46 Million Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 16.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,167 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,104 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $2,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,876,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $134,021,000 after buying an additional 24,653 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $809,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 224.1% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,841 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 24,784 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 155.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 73,161 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,348,000 after purchasing an additional 44,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $608,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 1,157 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.54, for a total value of $122,109.78. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 67,211 shares in the company, valued at $7,093,448.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total transaction of $159,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,397,392.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 1,157 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.54, for a total value of $122,109.78. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 67,211 shares in the company, valued at $7,093,448.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,255,692. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ LGND opened at $97.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.31. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $49.24 and a 12-month high of $112.13.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The firm had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.04 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

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.