John Kozarich Sells 467 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director John Kozarich sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.44, for a total transaction of $83,798.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 45,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,084,669.20. The trade was a 1.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $180.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $158.83 and a 200-day moving average of $127.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of -45.25 and a beta of 0.95. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $93.58 and a 12 month high of $183.81.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $47.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.87 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.44% and a negative return on equity of 9.21%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.000 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $16,526,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 57.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 300,025 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $34,107,000 after acquiring an additional 109,935 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,612.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 62,348 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,555,000 after acquiring an additional 61,996 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 190.2% during the 1st quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 68,299 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $7,181,000 after acquiring an additional 44,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,657,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LGND has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $167.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.50.

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.