Insider Selling: Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Sells 467 Shares of Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director John Kozarich sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.50, for a total value of $93,633.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 42,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,565,360. This trade represents a 1.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND traded up $4.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $208.95. The company had a trading volume of 189,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,316. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $93.58 and a one year high of $212.49. The company has a current ratio of 22.23, a quick ratio of 21.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $193.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.68. The firm has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84 and a beta of 1.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $59.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.59 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 46.42%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LGND has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $231.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other 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.