Wellington Management Group LLP Trims Stock Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,688 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 5,714 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Woodstock Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 29,211 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,924,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,896 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,708 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $147.00.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total transaction of $989,121.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,139,647.94. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total value of $297,501.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,515 shares in the company, valued at $3,649,529.75. This trade represents a 7.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,485,824. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $113.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.39 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $114.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.92. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $67.53 and a 1-year high of $129.90.

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.