Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Purchased by Atria Investments Inc

Atria Investments Inc lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,902 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after acquiring an additional 7,247 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 428,270 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,874,000 after acquiring an additional 22,495 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,574 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,963,000 after acquiring an additional 6,555 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 163,924 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,407,000 after acquiring an additional 8,584 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LGND has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND stock opened at $106.19 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $67.72 and a 52-week high of $129.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.31 and a beta of 1.12.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $575,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,879 shares in the company, valued at $2,171,651.37. The trade was a 20.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.