Royce & Associates LP Trims Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Royce & Associates LP lessened its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 45.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,090 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 4,996 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $67,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 22,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,397,392.26. The trade was a 6.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 11,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.61, for a total transaction of $1,202,792.29. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 49,510 shares in the company, valued at $5,228,751.10. The trade was a 18.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,211 shares of company stock worth $3,336,450. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of LGND stock opened at $111.56 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $107.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.90. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $57.00 and a 1-year high of $129.90. The company has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.45 and a beta of 0.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $157.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.83.

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.