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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director John Kozarich sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.80, for a total transaction of $108,250.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 41,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,685,994.80. This trade represents a 1.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.0%

LGND stock traded down $2.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $218.98. 151,157 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 212,691. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $98.89 and a fifty-two week high of $247.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $214.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $201.77. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 21.28 and a quick ratio of 20.95.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LGND. Wall Street Zen lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,926 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $19,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,860 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,915 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,653,000 after buying an additional 4,538 shares during the last quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 178.0% during the third quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 29,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,257,000 after buying an additional 19,002 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 541,845 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $95,982,000 after buying an additional 202,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 11.7% in the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 59,131 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,474,000 after buying an additional 6,209 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.