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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.22, for a total value of $1,566,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 31,854 shares in the company, valued at $9,977,309.88. The trade was a 13.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Friday, October 2nd, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.07, for a total transaction of $1,520,350.00.
• On Thursday, September 3rd, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.09, for a total transaction of $1,430,450.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $316.13 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 30.96, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $175.89 and a 52 week high of $326.63.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $78.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.00 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 5.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 31.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $201,623,000 after purchasing an additional 14,491 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the first quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 283,567 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $56,614,000 after purchasing an additional 3,940 shares during the period. Ranger Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $81,424,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 157,865 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $31,518,000 after purchasing an additional 37,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $41,429,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LGND shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $345.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $358.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.22.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, acquires and licenses technologies intended to improve the development and commercialization of medicines. Rather than operating primarily as a traditional drug manufacturer, Ligand generally works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners, receiving licensing payments, royalties and other consideration tied to partnered products.

The company’s principal technology is Captisol, a modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain active pharmaceutical ingredients.