Royce & Associates LP Sells 3,193 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Royce & Associates LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 52.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,897 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 3,193 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $310,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 119.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 406 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 904 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $172,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $180,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total transaction of $244,842.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,402,691.39. This trade represents a 9.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $108.15 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $67.72 and a 1 year high of $129.90. The firm has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 43.09 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $114.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.75.

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.