Insider Selling: Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Sells $687,825.00 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 3,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $687,825.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,727,250. This represents a 12.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Octavio Espinoza also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, March 4th, Octavio Espinoza sold 13,423 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.83, for a total value of $2,762,856.09.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 4.1%

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $202.91 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 22.23 and a quick ratio of 21.98. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $93.58 and a 1-year high of $227.92. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $196.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $189.45. The company has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.80, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $59.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.59 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 46.42%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior 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, research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $231.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Bank of America assumed 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, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,014 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 2,872 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 575 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.