Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $682,000 Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,363 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LGND. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 36,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,857,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,542 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 196.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 9,548 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,332 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $261,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LGND has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $111.67 on Tuesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $67.72 and a 1-year high of $129.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $114.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.49 and a beta of 1.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $575,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,171,651.37. This represents a 20.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.