Insider Selling: Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Sells 467 Shares of Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director John Kozarich sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.50, for a total value of $93,633.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 42,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,565,360. This represents a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of LGND stock traded up $4.71 on Wednesday, hitting $208.95. The company had a trading volume of 189,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,316. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $93.58 and a twelve month high of $212.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 21.98 and a current ratio of 22.23. The firm has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.84 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $193.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.68.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

LGND has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Benchmark upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $231.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.17.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 25.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $344,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,121,000 after buying an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 55,327 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,817,000 after buying an additional 4,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 176.2% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,882,000 after buying an additional 23,553 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.