Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Sells 1,164 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 8.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,180 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,164 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $107,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND stock opened at $102.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $49.24 and a fifty-two week high of $112.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $102.83 and a 200-day moving average of $87.22.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LGND. Benchmark increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Craig Hallum raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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.