Barclays PLC Acquires 7,247 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Barclays PLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 43,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,247 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 8,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $716,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.1% during the second quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 10,847 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,812 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.2% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 99,034 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,345,000 after acquiring an additional 13,839 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 352.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 14,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,190,000 after acquiring an additional 11,001 shares during the period. Finally, F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,350,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price 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 reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND opened at $114.64 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.19. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $67.53 and a 1 year high of $129.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 45.67 and a beta of 1.01.

Insider Activity

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total value of $297,501.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,649,529.75. The trade was a 7.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total value of $989,121.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,139,647.94. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,485,824. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company 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.