Isthmus Partners LLC Sells 9,622 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Isthmus Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 20.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,554 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 9,622 shares during the quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC owned 0.20% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $3,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Chicago Capital LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 124.3% during the 2nd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 514,946 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,389,000 after acquiring an additional 285,350 shares during the last quarter. F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,350,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in 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 worth $37,312,000 after acquiring an additional 114,436 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 708,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,707,000 after acquiring an additional 44,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 47.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 79,612 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,708,000 after buying an additional 25,717 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total value of $199,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,244,386.40. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,557,963.40. The trade was a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,322 shares of company stock worth $1,974,073 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on LGND. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark increased 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. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $157.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.83.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.4 %

LGND opened at $122.55 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $57.00 and a 1-year high of $129.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.33. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 48.82 and a beta of 0.99.

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.