Insider Selling: Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Sells 1,575 Shares of Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director John Kozarich sold 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.50, for a total value of $352,012.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 41,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,339,171. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $2.23 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $218.98. The company had a trading volume of 151,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 212,691. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $214.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $201.77. The stock has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $98.89 and a 12-month high of $247.38.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on LGND shares. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.71.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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