5,961 Shares in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Purchased by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,961 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $597,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Chicago Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 124.3% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 514,946 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,389,000 after buying an additional 285,350 shares in the last quarter. F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,350,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 44.3% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 372,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,312,000 after purchasing an additional 114,436 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 708,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,707,000 after purchasing an additional 44,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 47.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 79,612 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,708,000 after purchasing an additional 25,717 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND opened at $118.60 on Wednesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $60.28 and a fifty-two week high of $129.90. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $113.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.25 and a beta of 1.01.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total transaction of $132,523.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 24,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,557,963.40. This represents a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now 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. Insiders have sold a total of 21,728 shares of company stock valued at $2,271,575 over the last 90 days. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on LGND shares. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $157.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.