Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 13,088 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,076,283 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 13,088 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $367,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplex Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $61,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.91, for a total value of $91,489.97. Following the sale, the director directly owned 43,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,460,765.17. This represents a 1.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.31, for a total transaction of $339,711.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 26,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,931,085.66. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 3,205 shares of company stock worth $611,192 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LGND. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $231.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Six 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $240.67.

Key Headlines Impacting Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Ligand Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat: Non-GAAP EPS $2.02 vs. $1.46 expected and revenue $59.7M vs. $55.6M expected; revenue grew ~39.5% YoY — signals stronger underlying royalty/licensing performance. Earnings beat article
• Positive Sentiment: Very bullish FY2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $8.00–$9.00 vs. consensus ~$4.85 — a material upside surprise that suggests substantial expected royalty/cash flow visibility or non-GAAP adjustments driving higher per‑share earnings. Press release
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term growth runway: Company projects ~23% CAGR in royalty revenue through 2030 as its royalty portfolio accelerates — supports higher recurring cash flow expectations. Royalty growth outlook article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary: HC Wainwright and other commentators flagged the company’s outlook positively, which can support sentiment but is not a guarantee of sustained stock moves. Analyst note
• Neutral Sentiment: Calls/transcript and disclosure: Company provided slide deck, call transcript and additional detail on drivers (royalties, milestone timing, and adjustments) — useful for investors to parse GAAP vs. adjusted items. Earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed/uncertain reception: Some investors sold into the print — one write-up details a near‑6% intraday drop citing concerns about the sustainability of elevated EPS (non‑GAAP adjustments, one‑time items) and the revenue guidance range that centers around or slightly below Street revenue expectations. Why stock is down article
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue guidance nuance: FY2026 revenue range $245M–$285M vs. consensus ~$266M — midpoint is roughly in line but the wide band and lower bound give some investors pause about timing of royalties/milestones. Guidance details

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.5%

LGND stock opened at $196.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.77 and a beta of 1.14. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $93.58 and a twelve month high of $212.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $193.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.01. The company has a quick ratio of 24.30, a current ratio of 24.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $59.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.59 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 19.34%.The business’s revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.