Barclays PLC Has $4.35 Million Stock Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Barclays PLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,456 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,247 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.23% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $4,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LGND. MML Investors Services LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. Castleark Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 67,923 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,798,000 after purchasing an additional 6,560 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 707,414 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $70,805,000 after purchasing an additional 18,642 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 15,949 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,288 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,142 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total transaction of $199,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,534 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,244,386.40. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were 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 owns 29,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,649,529.75. This represents a 7.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,485,824. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $114.64. 551,595 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 136,360. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $115.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.34. The company has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 45.67 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $67.53 and a 1-year high of $129.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.