1,900 Shares in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Acquired by Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ

Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,896 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% in the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 545,821 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,631,000 after acquiring an additional 30,875 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 115,480 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,558,000 after acquiring an additional 16,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $276,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total transaction of $297,501.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 29,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,649,529.75. This trade represents a 7.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total value of $244,842.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,402,691.39. This represents a 9.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.3 %

LGND opened at $113.93 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.82. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 45.39 and a beta of 1.04. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $67.72 and a 1 year high of $129.90.

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.