Nordea Investment Management AB Grows Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,572 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,970 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.31% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $6,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LGND. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 708,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,707,000 after acquiring an additional 44,543 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 707,414 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,805,000 after buying an additional 18,642 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 604,038 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $60,458,000 after buying an additional 17,414 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 428,270 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,874,000 after acquiring an additional 22,495 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of the company’s 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 approximately $3,649,529.75. This represents a 7.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total transaction of $244,842.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,647 shares in the company, valued at $2,402,691.39. This represents a 9.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $110.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.06 and a beta of 1.05. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $67.53 and a one year high of $129.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LGND has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.00.

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.