Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Octavio Espinoza Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $575,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,171,651.37. The trade was a 20.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Octavio Espinoza also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, December 23rd, Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total value of $244,842.48.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $116.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.22 and a beta of 1.04. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $67.72 and a 12-month high of $129.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $114.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.48.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 119.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 406 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 825.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LGND shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.