Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,755 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 243 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.08% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $1,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LGND. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,884,112 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $137,729,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 708,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,707,000 after purchasing an additional 44,543 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 124.3% during the second quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 514,946 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,389,000 after purchasing an additional 285,350 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% during the second quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 292,475 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,644,000 after purchasing an additional 12,691 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.2% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 202,842 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $17,091,000 after buying an additional 13,595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the subject of several research reports. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.80.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of LGND opened at $104.78 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $102.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.11. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27 and a beta of 1.00. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $49.24 and a 52-week high of $112.13.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The company had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 57.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $97.39 per share, with a total value of $243,475.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 123,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,979,943.90. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 18,245 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $97.39 per share, for a total transaction of $243,475.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,010 shares in the company, valued at $11,979,943.90. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 51,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,255,692. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by 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.