Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires 14,210 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,056 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,210 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $7,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LGND. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $7,655,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,066 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 7,581 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 2,435 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 659,434 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,097,000 after purchasing an additional 191,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $107,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on LGND shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $144.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 18,245 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $1,797,132.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 68,368 shares in the company, valued at $6,734,248. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $97.39 per share, for a total transaction of $243,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 123,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,979,943.90. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 18,245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 68,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,734,248. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,255,692 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ LGND opened at $100.09 on Tuesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $49.24 and a 12-month high of $112.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.04 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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.