Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Octavio Espinoza Sells 1,804 Shares of Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.31, for a total transaction of $339,711.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 26,186 shares in the company, valued at $4,931,085.66. The trade was a 6.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $192.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $192.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.75. The company has a current ratio of 24.69, a quick ratio of 24.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $93.58 and a 12-month high of $212.49. The company has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.06 and a beta of 0.99.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $1.13. The business had revenue of $86.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.71 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 19.34%.The company’s revenue was up 123.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.400-7.650 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LGND. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” 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. Finally, Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.33.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $2,789,955,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,232,000 after purchasing an additional 22,629 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 667,311 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $118,207,000 after purchasing an additional 19,370 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the second quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 571,825 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,005,000 after purchasing an additional 17,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 541,845 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $95,982,000 after purchasing an additional 202,103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

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.