Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 170,419 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 6,495 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $18,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 707,414 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,805,000 after buying an additional 18,642 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 621,482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $66,592,000 after purchasing an additional 17,444 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 551,588 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,103,000 after purchasing an additional 5,767 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 428,270 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,874,000 after purchasing an additional 22,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 44.3% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 372,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,312,000 after purchasing an additional 114,436 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LGND. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND opened at $108.03 on Thursday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $67.72 and a fifty-two week high of $129.90. The company has a fifty day moving average of $114.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.04 and a beta of 1.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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