Brown Advisory Inc. Purchases New Shares in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Brown Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,757 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $554,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 325,727 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,263,000 after purchasing an additional 121,049 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 205,208 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,656,000 after acquiring an additional 20,888 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 98.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 37,173 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,655,000 after acquiring an additional 18,472 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 356.2% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,012 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 1,571 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 136,229 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,163,000 after acquiring an additional 40,958 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $86.40 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $49.24 and a 52-week high of $94.57. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.13.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $3.01. The business had revenue of $30.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.92 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 8.52% and a net margin of 79.30%. The firm’s revenue was down 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.04, for a total value of $830,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,843,903.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Matthew E. Korenberg sold 3,440 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.54, for a total value of $290,817.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,489,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.04, for a total value of $830,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,205 shares in the company, valued at $1,843,903.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,436 shares of company stock worth $2,303,916 in the last three months. 10.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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.