Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Jason Haas Sells 7,138 Shares

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Jason Haas sold 7,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.81, for a total value of $2,090,077.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,676.61. This represents a 64.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Jason Haas also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, June 12th, Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total value of $1,651,302.38.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $294.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $149.51 and a 52 week high of $326.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $291.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.57. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 31.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.40. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 67.88% and a return on equity of 20.06%. The firm had revenue of $63.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.30 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LGND. Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $81,424,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,429,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 22.5% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 10,358 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,274,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, Balefire LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $330,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on LGND shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $326.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $335.75.

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.