Wellington Management Group LLP Decreases Stock Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 39.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,688 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 5,714 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 707,414 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $70,805,000 after acquiring an additional 18,642 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 15,949 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,288 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,142 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $419,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,410,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total value of $989,121.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,139,647.94. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total transaction of $297,501.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 29,515 shares in the company, valued at $3,649,529.75. This represents a 7.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,485,824 over the last quarter. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.70 on Friday, reaching $114.64. The company had a trading volume of 551,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,360. The firm has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 45.67 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $115.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.00. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $67.53 and a 52-week high of $129.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on LGND shares. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price 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. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Benchmark upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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.