China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 66.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,402 shares during the quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 5.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $109.81 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.30. The stock has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24 and a beta of 1.00. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $50.87 and a 12 month high of $115.53.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.04 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Todd C. Davis purchased 2,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $97.39 per share, for a total transaction of $243,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total value of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at $2,244,386.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.39 per share, for a total transaction of $243,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 123,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,979,943.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,613 shares of company stock worth $5,255,692 over the last quarter. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $144.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Benchmark upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $132.83.

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.