18,776 Shares in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Acquired by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 18,776 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,012,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned about 0.10% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 707,414 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $70,805,000 after acquiring an additional 18,642 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 621,482 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $66,592,000 after purchasing an additional 17,444 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 551,588 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,103,000 after purchasing an additional 5,767 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 428,270 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $42,874,000 after acquiring an additional 22,495 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 44.3% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 372,779 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $37,312,000 after acquiring an additional 114,436 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of the company'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 in the company, valued at $2,402,691.39. This represents a 9.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of LGND stock traded up $0.66 during trading on Thursday, reaching $115.67. 155,760 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 91,207. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 46.08 and a beta of 1.04. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $67.72 and a twelve month high of $129.90. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $113.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.97.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($3.01). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 29.68%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.