Insider Selling: Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Sells $1,125,000.00 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 102,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,645,000. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Jason Aryeh also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, June 10th, Jason Aryeh sold 500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $125,000.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $255.54 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.67, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock 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 12-month low of $110.00 and a 12-month high of $259.03.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on LGND shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price 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. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Bank of America started coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $1,337,000. Argent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $696,000. Cim Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the first quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 37,696 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in 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 worth $201,623,000 after purchasing an additional 14,491 shares in the last quarter. 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.