John Lamattina Sells 4,591 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director John Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.88, for a total value of $1,151,790.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,765,982.72. This trade represents a 14.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.97 on Friday, reaching $255.54. 247,086 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 221,643. The company has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.17. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $110.00 and a 52 week high of $259.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $224.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LGND shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $1,337,000. Argent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth approximately $696,000. Cim Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the first quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 157,865 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,518,000 after purchasing an additional 37,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.