Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Trims Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lessened its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 304,925 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 7,954 shares during the quarter. Ligand Pharmaceuticals comprises approximately 1.8% of Rice Hall James & Associates LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned 1.61% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $32,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LGND. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 372,779 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $37,312,000 after purchasing an additional 114,436 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 503.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 94,659 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $9,793,000 after purchasing an additional 78,973 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,410,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,481,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 428,270 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $42,874,000 after purchasing an additional 22,495 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total transaction of $297,501.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 29,515 shares in the company, valued at $3,649,529.75. The trade was a 7.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total value of $244,842.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,402,691.39. This represents a 9.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.2 %

LGND stock traded down $1.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $120.56. The stock had a trading volume of 136,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 87,456. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $114.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.47. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.03 and a beta of 1.04. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $67.72 and a 52-week high of $129.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $147.00.

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.