Insider Selling: Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Sells $125,000.00 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Jason Aryeh sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $125,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 107,080 shares in the company, valued at $26,770,000. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 transaction of $1,125,000.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $255.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 21.28 and a quick ratio of 20.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $225.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.74. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $110.00 and a 1 year high of $259.03.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. 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 analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $2,789,955,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $201,623,000 after buying an additional 14,491 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,232,000 after buying an additional 22,629 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 516,464 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $97,648,000 after buying an additional 138,169 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% during the fourth 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 currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on LGND shares. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.71.

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.