Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Insider Sells $1,444,950.00 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.99, for a total transaction of $1,444,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,997,130.86. The trade was a 10.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 Wednesday, July 1st, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.28, for a total value of $1,566,400.00.
• On Monday, June 1st, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.06, for a total value of $1,135,300.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $8.75 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $300.79. 329,155 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 280,090. The company has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.81, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $280.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.66. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $132.21 and a 52-week high of $326.63.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,040.0% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 342 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LGND shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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, July 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.00.

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.