F M Investments LLC Cuts Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

F M Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 60.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,883 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 81,416 shares during the quarter. F M Investments LLC owned approximately 0.28% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $5,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,085,627 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $223,475,000 after buying an additional 115,005 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 707,414 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,805,000 after buying an additional 18,642 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 621,482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $66,592,000 after buying an additional 17,444 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 551,588 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,103,000 after buying an additional 5,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 438,441 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,989,000 after buying an additional 10,171 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of LGND opened at $103.85 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $111.33 and a 200-day moving average of $111.92. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $67.72 and a one year high of $129.90. The company has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 41.37 and a beta of 1.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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 reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $575,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,879 shares in the company, valued at $2,171,651.37. This represents a 20.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

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.