Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Insider Sells $1,566,400.00 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.28, for a total transaction of $1,566,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,505.92. The trade was a 10.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Andrew Reardon also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, June 1st, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.06, for a total transaction of $1,135,300.00.
• On Friday, May 1st, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.31, for a total transaction of $1,156,550.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $314.88 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $252.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.42. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $116.44 and a 12-month high of $326.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 21.28, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The company had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,050.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on LGND. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.29.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.