Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 3,355 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,769 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 3,355 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $7,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 14,344 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 32,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,390,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the second quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,627 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LGND shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Benchmark lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND opened at $101.14 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $100.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.79. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $49.24 and a 52 week high of $112.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. The business had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.04 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total transaction of $159,585.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,397,392.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $2,397,392.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 11,389 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.61, for a total transaction of $1,202,792.29. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 49,510 shares in the company, valued at $5,228,751.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,291 shares of company stock valued at $3,281,620 in the last ninety days. 5.90% of the stock is owned by 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.