John Kozarich Sells 467 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director John Kozarich sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.91, for a total transaction of $91,489.97. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,460,765.17. This trade represents a 1.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.3%

NASDAQ LGND opened at $191.69 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $93.58 and a one year high of $212.49. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.60 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.77.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $1.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 19.34% and a return on equity of 5.71%. The firm had revenue of $86.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 123.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 25.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $344,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 55,327 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,817,000 after purchasing an additional 4,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 176.2% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after purchasing an additional 23,553 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LGND has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.33.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company’s product offerings center around several core platforms.