Insider Selling: Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Sells 4,500 Shares of Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 102,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,645,000. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

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

• On Wednesday, June 10th, Jason Aryeh sold 500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $125,000.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $255.54. 247,086 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 221,643. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $110.00 and a 12-month high of $259.03. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $224.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.40. The company has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $51.72 million during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price target for the company. 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $344,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.2% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 55,327 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,817,000 after purchasing an additional 4,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 176.2% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,882,000 after purchasing an additional 23,553 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

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.