Andrew Reardon Sells 5,000 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.28, for a total value of $1,566,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,005,505.92. The trade was a 10.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Andrew Reardon also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, June 1st, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.06, for a total value of $1,135,300.00.
• On Friday, May 1st, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.31, for a total value of $1,156,550.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LGND traded up $0.87 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $320.42. 349,437 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 273,442. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.10. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $112.83 and a 1 year high of $322.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.82. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on LGND. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.71.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.