Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Sells 187,814 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 39.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 287,044 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 187,814 shares during the period. Ligand Pharmaceuticals accounts for 2.8% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC owned 1.52% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $30,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,896 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 5,349 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodstock Corp grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 29,411 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,151,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on LGND. Barclays increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,649,529.75. This trade represents a 7.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total value of $244,842.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,402,691.39. The trade was a 9.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.7 %

LGND traded up $2.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $122.02. 106,558 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 84,027. 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 50 day moving average price of $113.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.24. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.61 and a beta of 1.04.

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.