Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock Holdings Lifted by Woodstock Corp

Woodstock Corp increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,411 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after buying an additional 7,247 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $42,874,000 after acquiring an additional 22,495 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,574 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,963,000 after acquiring an additional 6,555 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 163,924 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $16,407,000 after purchasing an additional 8,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 550.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,749 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 10,789 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total value of $297,501.90. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total transaction of $244,842.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,402,691.39. This represents a 9.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on LGND shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $111.08 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $67.53 and a 1 year high of $129.90. The firm has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.26 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $115.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.01.

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.