Insider Selling: Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Sells 1,000 Shares of Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Stephen Sabba sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.87, for a total value of $207,870.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,816,680.91. This represents a 2.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND traded up $5.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $207.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 42,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 222,736. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 21.98, a current ratio of 22.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $93.58 and a 1 year high of $227.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $197.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.55.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.86.

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.