The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $738,000 Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,761 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 407 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $667,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 37,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,138,000 after purchasing an additional 3,649 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $266,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 34.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 48,065 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,050,000 after buying an additional 12,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $67,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. 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. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $131.80.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND opened at $103.46 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’s 50 day moving average price is $102.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01 and a beta of 1.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.04 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.73 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total value of $989,121.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,139,647.94. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total value of $989,121.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at $5,139,647.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.39 per share, with a total value of $243,475.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 123,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,979,943.90. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 51,613 shares of company stock worth $5,255,692. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.