State of Alaska Department of Revenue Increases Stock Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,739 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 551,588 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,103,000 after purchasing an additional 5,767 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,007 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $839,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 904 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total value of $297,501.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 29,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,649,529.75. This trade represents a 7.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total value of $244,842.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,402,691.39. This trade represents a 9.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $111.39 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $114.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.79. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $67.72 and a 1-year high of $129.90. The company has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of 44.38 and a beta of 1.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LGND. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. 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 report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company 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.