Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Acquired by State Street Corp

State Street Corp raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 707,414 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,642 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned 3.74% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $70,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LGND. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 708,624 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,707,000 after purchasing an additional 44,543 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 604,038 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $60,458,000 after buying an additional 17,414 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% in the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 545,821 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $54,631,000 after buying an additional 30,875 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings 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 valued at $37,312,000 after buying an additional 114,436 shares during the period. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 312,879 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $31,316,000 after acquiring an additional 20,404 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of LGND traded down $6.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $114.41. The company had a trading volume of 125,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,770. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $67.53 and a 52 week high of $129.90. The company's 50 day moving average price is $114.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.84. The stock has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.58 and a beta of 1.01.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total value of $132,523.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,557,963.40. The trade was a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total transaction of $989,121.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at $5,139,647.94. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,728 shares of company stock valued at $2,271,575 over the last three months. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LGND shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $147.00.

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.