Norges Bank Acquires New Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 46,290 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $4,960,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.24% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 119.5% during the fourth 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 increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.8% in the 4th 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 last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 904 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $172,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $180,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $575,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,171,651.37. The trade was a 20.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ LGND traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $106.98. The company had a trading volume of 6,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 121,993. The firm has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.45 and a beta of 1.07. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $67.72 and a fifty-two week high of $129.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $146.43.

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.