Martine Zimmermann Sells 1,200 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Martine Zimmermann sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.00, for a total transaction of $342,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,645. This trade represents a 23.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $276.98 on Wednesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $163.10 and a 12-month high of $326.63. The company has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 29.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 31.18 and a quick ratio of 30.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $293.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $253.72.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.40. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 67.88% and a return on equity of 20.06%. The business had revenue of $63.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on LGND shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $289.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $326.00 price target (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $335.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $201,623,000 after acquiring an additional 14,491 shares during the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 266,304 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 493,589 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $93,336,000 after buying an additional 19,400 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the first quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 283,567 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $56,614,000 after buying an additional 3,940 shares during the period. Finally, Ranger Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $81,424,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, acquires and licenses technologies designed to help pharmaceutical companies discover, develop and commercialize medicines. Rather than focusing primarily on building a large portfolio of internally marketed drugs, Ligand operates an asset-light business model centered on partnerships, licensing agreements, royalties and other economic interests in partnered products.

The company’s principal technology is Captisol, a proprietary modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain drug compounds.