Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Insider Andrew Reardon Sells 5,000 Shares

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.35, for a total value of $1,031,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 36,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,607,918.15. This represents a 11.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $201.90 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $93.58 and a 12-month high of $212.49. The stock has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.63 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 21.98, a current ratio of 22.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $194.23 and its 200-day moving average is $187.15.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LGND has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.17.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $2,789,955,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,232,000 after buying an additional 22,629 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 667,311 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $118,207,000 after buying an additional 19,370 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 516,464 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $97,648,000 after buying an additional 138,169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

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.