Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Invests $159,000 in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,891 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $159,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,708 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 14,344 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 32,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,390,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the second quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.5% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,627 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total value of $159,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,392.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total transaction of $159,585.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,392.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 1,157 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.54, for a total transaction of $122,109.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 67,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,093,448.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,291 shares of company stock valued at $3,281,620. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on LGND. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $102.10 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.41. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $49.24 and a 52 week high of $112.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. The company had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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.