Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Insider Sells $1,135,300.00 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.06, for a total transaction of $1,135,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,396,196.92. The trade was a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Friday, May 1st, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.31, for a total transaction of $1,156,550.00.
• On Wednesday, April 1st, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.24, for a total transaction of $1,006,200.00.
• On Wednesday, March 4th, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.35, for a total transaction of $1,031,750.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $235.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 21.28, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $102.50 and a 1 year high of $247.38. The company has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of 32.01, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50-day moving average is $219.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.93.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,789,955,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $201,623,000 after purchasing an additional 14,491 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,232,000 after purchasing an additional 22,629 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 516,464 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $97,648,000 after purchasing an additional 138,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $93,809,000 after buying an additional 266,304 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.