Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Jason Aryeh Sells 500 Shares of Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Jason Aryeh sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 107,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,770,000. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

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

• On Thursday, June 11th, Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,125,000.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of LGND opened at $255.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 21.28 and a quick ratio of 20.95. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $110.00 and a 1 year high of $259.03. The firm has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Seven research 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cim Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 2,872 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.