Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 95,716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $19,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,040.0% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 342 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total transaction of $544,830.00. Following the sale, the director owned 33,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,541,766. This represents a 6.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.88, for a total transaction of $1,151,790.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,765,982.72. This trade represents a 14.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 35,698 shares of company stock worth $9,019,252 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.4%

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $304.26 on Thursday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $129.55 and a fifty-two week high of $326.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $268.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $227.16. The company has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of 41.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.10.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LGND shares. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company 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.