Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 424,651 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 84% from the previous session’s volume of 231,054 shares.The stock last traded at $266.0550 and had previously closed at $262.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LGND has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 21.28 and a quick ratio of 20.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $235.75 and its 200-day moving average is $210.65.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 102,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,645,000. The trade was a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total value of $1,651,302.38. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,273,043.98. This represents a 56.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 36,165 shares of company stock worth $8,553,493 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.