Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Sells $1,651,302.38 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total value of $1,651,302.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,273,043.98. The trade was a 56.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of LGND opened at $263.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $228.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.84. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $110.00 and a 52-week high of $267.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 35.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.17.

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 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 business 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 firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,789,955,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 676.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 254,805 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,136,000 after acquiring an additional 221,996 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 64.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 378,295 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $67,011,000 after purchasing an additional 148,437 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 385,028.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 146,349 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,670,000 after purchasing an additional 146,311 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LGND. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 target price on the stock. Seven 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.71.

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.