Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Octavio Espinoza Sells 1,804 Shares

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.31, for a total value of $339,711.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 26,186 shares in the company, valued at $4,931,085.66. The trade was a 6.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $192.63. 257,845 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 166,261. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 24.30 and a current ratio of 24.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 93.06 and a beta of 0.99. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $93.58 and a fifty-two week high of $212.49.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $1.13. The business had revenue of $86.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.71 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 19.34%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 123.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.400-7.650 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LGND has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LGND. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 36,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,848,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 202,828 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $21,325,000 after acquiring an additional 8,473 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,657,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 41.6% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 135,365 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,232,000 after purchasing an additional 39,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 216,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $22,736,000 after purchasing an additional 39,481 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.