Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163,924 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 8,584 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $16,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Woodstock Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the third quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 29,211 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,924,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,896 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake 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 worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,708 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total value of $989,121.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,139,647.94. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total transaction of $132,523.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,557,963.40. This trade represents a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,728 shares of company stock worth $2,271,575 over the last three months. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of LGND opened at $124.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.73 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $59.15 and a 12-month high of $129.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $112.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.12.

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.