Headlands Technologies LLC Has $64,000 Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $64,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $159,000. Chicago Capital LLC boosted 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 worth $43,389,000 after purchasing an additional 285,350 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $608,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,708 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 61,332 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,168,000 after buying an additional 1,077 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND opened at $105.00 on Tuesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $49.24 and a fifty-two week high of $112.13. The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.62.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,392.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 18,245 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $1,797,132.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 68,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,734,248. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $159,585.00. Following 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,291 shares of company stock worth $3,281,620. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LGND has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Craig Hallum raised 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 upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.00.

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.