Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Sells $1,151,790.08 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director John Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.88, for a total transaction of $1,151,790.08. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,969 shares in the company, valued at $6,765,982.72. This trade represents a 14.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $255.54. The company had a trading volume of 247,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 221,643. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $110.00 and a fifty-two week high of $259.03. The company has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 21.28, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.40.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 25.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $344,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after buying an additional 809 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 55,327 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,817,000 after acquiring an additional 4,926 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 176.2% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,882,000 after acquiring an additional 23,553 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LGND has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, 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 research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.71.

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.