Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Raises Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $64,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LGND. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,884,112 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $137,729,000 after purchasing an additional 7,598 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings 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 valued at $59,707,000 after buying an additional 44,543 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% during the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 545,821 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,631,000 after buying an additional 30,875 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% during the second quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 292,475 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,644,000 after buying an additional 12,691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.2% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 202,842 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $17,091,000 after buying an additional 13,595 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $157.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Craig Hallum upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $132.83.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND opened at $111.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.50 and a beta of 0.99. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $51.21 and a 1-year high of $115.53. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.18.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The business had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $97.39 per share, for a total transaction of $243,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 123,010 shares in the company, valued at $11,979,943.90. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $97.39 per share, for a total transaction of $243,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 123,010 shares in the company, valued at $11,979,943.90. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 18,245 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 68,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,734,248. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 51,613 shares of company stock worth $5,255,692. 5.90% of the stock is 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.