Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $1.53 Million Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 61.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,200 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 28,900 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.10% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $1,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $107,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Craig Hallum raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total transaction of $989,121.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,139,647.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total value of $989,121.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at $5,139,647.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 18,245 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $1,797,132.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 68,368 shares in the company, valued at $6,734,248. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 51,613 shares of company stock worth $5,255,692. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.5 %

LGND stock traded up $2.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $104.78. The company had a trading volume of 72,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 139,649. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $49.24 and a 1 year high of $112.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $102.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.34.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.04 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The company's revenue was up 57.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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.