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 business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.99, for a total value of $1,444,950.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,514 shares in the company, valued at $11,997,130.86. This represents a 10.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 Wednesday, July 1st, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.28, for a total value of $1,566,400.00.
• 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.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $302.57 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $283.44 and its 200-day moving average is $234.14. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $132.21 and a 1-year high of $326.63. The company has a current ratio of 21.28, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.13.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LGND shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Seven investment 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, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Legato Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 26,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,961,000 after buying an additional 9,944 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 143,067 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,050,000 after acquiring an additional 31,081 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 130,858 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,741,000 after acquiring an additional 21,932 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $93,809,000 after acquiring an additional 266,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Future Fund LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $1,755,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

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.