Jason Aryeh Sells 500 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Jason Aryeh sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 107,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,770,000. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Jason Aryeh also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, June 11th, Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,125,000.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.4%

LGND stock opened at $255.54 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $110.00 and a 1-year high of $259.03. 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.74.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted 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). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The business had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on LGND shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Seven research 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, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LGND. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $52,000. 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.