Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director John Kozarich Sells 467 Shares

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director John Kozarich sold 467 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.05, for a total transaction of $89,220.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 44,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,518,537.40. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $190.38 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $176.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of -47.60 and a beta of 0.91. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $93.58 and a fifty-two week high of $194.44.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $47.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.87 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 9.21% and a negative net margin of 40.44%.Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% during the third 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 period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LGND has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.50.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.