Amalgamated Bank Buys 191 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,349 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total value of $989,121.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 50,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,139,647.94. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 2,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total transaction of $199,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at $2,244,386.40. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 33,368 shares of company stock valued at $3,458,560. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of LGND opened at $111.71 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $55.30 and a fifty-two week high of $129.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.51 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $157.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.83.

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.