Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on LGND. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.43.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.2 %

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $106.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.47 and a beta of 1.07. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $67.72 and a 12-month high of $129.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $575,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,171,651.37. This trade represents a 20.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,085,627 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $223,475,000 after buying an additional 115,005 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,015,023 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $108,757,000 after purchasing an additional 5,929 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 723,019 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $77,470,000 after purchasing an additional 16,003 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted 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 valued at $70,805,000 after purchasing an additional 18,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 642,712 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $67,575,000 after buying an additional 21,230 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.