Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Insider Sells $57,270.00 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.54, for a total value of $57,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,711,439.62. This represents a 1.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Andrew Reardon also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, May 15th, Andrew Reardon sold 1,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total value of $104,000.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of LGND stock opened at $114.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.60 and a beta of 0.83. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $77.53 and a 12-month high of $129.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $105.16 and a 200-day moving average of $110.75.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.10. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 29.68%. The business had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.84 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.84 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LGND has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,085,627 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $223,475,000 after purchasing an additional 115,005 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,015,023 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $108,757,000 after acquiring an additional 5,929 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 723,019 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $77,470,000 after acquiring an additional 16,003 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 642,712 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $67,575,000 after acquiring an additional 21,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the first quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 554,517 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $58,302,000 after purchasing an additional 2,929 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.