Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock: Insider Jason Aryeh Sells 700 Shares

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Jason Aryeh sold 700 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.43, for a total transaction of $224,301.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 108,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,849,325.94. This trade represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Friday, October 30th, Jason Aryeh sold 1,411 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.24, for a total transaction of $451,858.64.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $6.50 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $313.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 195,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 239,773. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $175.89 and a 1-year high of $326.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $297.47 and a 200 day moving average of $253.48. The company has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a PE ratio of 139.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 30.96, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $78.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.00 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 5.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 31.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $201,623,000 after acquiring an additional 14,491 shares in the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $81,424,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 3,940 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,429,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 157,865 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,518,000 after purchasing an additional 37,696 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on LGND. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $345.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $358.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $397.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.22.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, acquires and licenses technologies intended to improve the development and commercialization of medicines. Rather than operating primarily as a traditional drug manufacturer, Ligand generally works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners, receiving licensing payments, royalties and other consideration tied to partnered products.

The company’s principal technology is Captisol, a modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain active pharmaceutical ingredients.