Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Jason Aryeh Sells 1,411 Shares of Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Jason Aryeh sold 1,411 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.24, for a total transaction of $451,858.64. Following the sale, the director owned 109,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,052,829.92. The trade was a 1.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Jason Aryeh also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, November 2nd, Jason Aryeh sold 700 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.43, for a total value of $224,301.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND traded up $6.50 on Tuesday, hitting $313.52. 195,575 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 239,773. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $297.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $253.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 30.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $175.89 and a one year high of $326.63. The firm has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $201,623,000 after purchasing an additional 14,491 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 283,567 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $56,614,000 after purchasing an additional 3,940 shares during the period. Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $81,424,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake 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 worth $31,518,000 after purchasing an additional 37,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $41,429,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LGND shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $345.00 to $357.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note 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 objective on the stock. Leerink Partners started coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $358.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.