Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 93,208 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,439 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $9,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $111.67 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.54. The stock has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.49 and a beta of 0.99. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $57.00 and a 12-month high of $129.90.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total transaction of $159,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,392.26. This represents a 6.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 11,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.61, for a total value of $1,202,792.29. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 49,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,228,751.10. This represents a 18.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,368 shares of company stock valued at $3,458,560 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

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.