Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 34,826 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 507,019 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 34,826 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $95,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.2%

Shares of LGND opened at $213.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.61, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 21.98, a current ratio of 22.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.03. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $98.89 and a twelve month high of $227.92.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $59.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.59 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 46.42% and a return on equity of 13.86%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.23, for a total value of $94,441.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 42,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,544,824.19. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 3,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $687,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,727,250. This trade represents a 12.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,915 shares of company stock worth $6,385,917. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on LGND. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Bank of America began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $231.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.86.

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.