Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock: Insider Andrew Reardon Sells 5,000 Shares

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.22, for a total value of $1,566,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 31,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,977,309.88. The trade was a 13.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Friday, October 2nd, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.07, for a total value of $1,520,350.00.
• On Thursday, September 3rd, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.09, for a total value of $1,430,450.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND traded up $2.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $316.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 179,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 267,392. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 30.96. The company has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 141.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.16. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $175.89 and a fifty-two week high of $326.63. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $297.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $253.48.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 5.22%. The company had revenue of $78.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.09 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was down 31.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ranger Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $81,424,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $41,429,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 358.8% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 107,859 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $21,535,000 after purchasing an additional 84,349 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 157,865 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,518,000 after purchasing an additional 37,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 62.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 75,188 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,012,000 after purchasing an additional 28,820 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, September 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $345.00 to $357.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 price objective for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.22.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, acquires and licenses technologies intended to improve the development and commercialization of medicines. Rather than operating primarily as a traditional drug manufacturer, Ligand generally works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners, receiving licensing payments, royalties and other consideration tied to partnered products.

The company’s principal technology is Captisol, a modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain active pharmaceutical ingredients.