Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director John Kozarich Sells 467 Shares of Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director John Kozarich sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.23, for a total transaction of $94,441.41. Following the sale, the director directly owned 42,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,544,824.19. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $199.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 21.98, a current ratio of 22.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $197.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.81. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $93.58 and a 52-week high of $227.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.14.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $59.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.59 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 46.42%.The business’s revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LGND. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,014 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 2,872 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 575 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LGND has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $270.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.86.

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.