Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Insider Andrew Reardon Sells 500 Shares of Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.54, for a total value of $57,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,403 shares in the company, valued at $3,711,439.62. This trade represents a 1.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Andrew Reardon also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, May 15th, Andrew Reardon sold 1,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total transaction of $104,000.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $114.45 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $77.53 and a 1-year high of $129.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of $105.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.75. The company has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 45.60 and a beta of 0.83.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.10. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 4.95%. The firm had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 119.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 406 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 825.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.