Penn Capital Management Company LLC Sells 13,102 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Penn Capital Management Company LLC reduced its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 10.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 107,282 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 13,102 shares during the quarter. Ligand Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 1.5% of Penn Capital Management Company LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Penn Capital Management Company LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $19,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,915 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,653,000 after acquiring an additional 4,538 shares during the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,585,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 541,845 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $95,982,000 after purchasing an additional 202,103 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 667,311 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $118,207,000 after purchasing an additional 19,370 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 42.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 108,424 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $19,416,000 after purchasing an additional 32,379 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $210.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.14. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $93.58 and a one year high of $227.92. The firm has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 21.98 and a current ratio of 22.23.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $59.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.59 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 46.42% and a return on equity of 13.86%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $409,851.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,793 shares in the company, valued at $6,809,289.50. This represents a 5.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.35, for a total value of $1,031,750.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 36,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,607,918.15. The trade was a 11.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 24,915 shares of company stock worth $5,165,939 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.00% 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.