Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,688 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 5,714 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,574 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,963,000 after buying an additional 6,555 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 163,924 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,407,000 after acquiring an additional 8,584 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 115,480 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,558,000 after acquiring an additional 16,446 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 202,842 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $17,091,000 after acquiring an additional 13,595 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $608,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.00.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total transaction of $989,121.84. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total value of $297,501.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,649,529.75. This represents a 7.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,485,824 in the last ninety days. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of LGND stock opened at $113.94 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $67.53 and a 1-year high of $129.90. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $114.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 45.39 and a beta of 1.01.

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.