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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director John Kozarich sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.05, for a total value of $89,220.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 44,588 shares in the company, valued at $8,518,537.40. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ LGND opened at $208.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -52.06 and a beta of 0.91. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $93.58 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.96.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $47.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.87 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 9.21% and a negative net margin of 40.44%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LGND. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in 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. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $47,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.67.

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.