Innealta Capital LLC Acquires New Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 367 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $413,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 65.5% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 28,662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,047,000 after acquiring an additional 11,345 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,385 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 3,976 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 49,297 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,521,000 after purchasing an additional 16,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 161,480 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,533,000 after purchasing an additional 4,293 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 18,245 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total value of $1,797,132.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 68,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,734,248. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 11,389 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 49,510 shares in the company, valued at $5,228,751.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 18,245 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total value of $1,797,132.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 68,368 shares in the company, valued at $6,734,248. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,291 shares of company stock valued at $3,281,620. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ LGND opened at $105.80 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.59. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $49.24 and a 12-month high of $112.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 8.52% and a net margin of 79.30%. The company had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.