Equitable Trust Co. Purchases New Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Equitable Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 4,080 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $107,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Craig Hallum increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $105.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $49.24 and a twelve month high of $112.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $98.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.98.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The firm had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total value of $159,585.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,397,392.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total value of $159,585.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,397,392.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $97.39 per share, for a total transaction of $243,475.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 123,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,979,943.90. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,291 shares of company stock valued at $3,281,620. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.