Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Stock Holdings Lowered by Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 42.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,313 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 6,157 shares during the quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LGND. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 13,423 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.83, for a total transaction of $2,762,856.09. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,662 shares in the company, valued at $4,458,689.46. This trade represents a 38.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,034 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $409,851.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 33,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,809,289.50. This trade represents a 5.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 37,949 shares of company stock worth $8,014,056. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of LGND opened at $235.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.20. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $98.89 and a fifty-two week high of $247.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 21.28 and a quick ratio of 20.95. The business’s 50-day moving average is $216.19 and its 200-day moving average is $203.53.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The firm had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on LGND. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company’s product offerings center around several core platforms.