Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on LGND. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of LGND stock opened at $108.09 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $114.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.73. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $67.72 and a twelve month high of $129.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.06 and a beta of 1.12.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total transaction of $244,842.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,402,691.39. The trade was a 9.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 5,349 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 93,208 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,329,000 after acquiring an additional 4,439 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,685 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,481,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,022 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 6,206 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% 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.