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

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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $255.54 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $225.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.74. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $110.00 and a 1-year high of $259.03. The company has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.67, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $2,789,955,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $201,623,000 after acquiring an additional 14,491 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,232,000 after acquiring an additional 22,629 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 516,464 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $97,648,000 after acquiring an additional 138,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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. Hedge funds and other 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.