Granite Investment Partners LLC Trims Stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)

Granite Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 115,538 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 2,463 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $12,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% in the third 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the 3rd 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 period. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted 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 in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 550.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,749 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 10,789 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $104.27 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $67.72 and a 12 month high of $129.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $110.80 and a 200 day moving average of $111.98. The firm has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 41.54 and a beta of 1.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,171,651.37. This represents a 20.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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.