Martingale Asset Management L P Sells 2,200 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Martingale Asset Management L P decreased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 11.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 17,822 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 708,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,707,000 after acquiring an additional 44,543 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 604,038 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $60,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,414 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 545,821 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,631,000 after purchasing an additional 30,875 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position 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 valued at $37,312,000 after buying an additional 114,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.0% during the third quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 312,879 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,316,000 after buying an additional 20,404 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $157.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.83.

Insider Activity

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 6,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.10, for a total transaction of $653,227.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at $5,285,885.70. The trade was a 11.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total transaction of $132,523.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,610 shares in the company, valued at $2,557,963.40. The trade was a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,322 shares of company stock valued at $1,974,073. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $121.47 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.39 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average is $110.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.85. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $57.00 and a 1-year high of $129.90.

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.