Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Stock Purchased by Profund Advisors LLC

Profund Advisors LLC increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 191.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,253 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,104 shares during the quarter. Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $201,623,000 after buying an additional 14,491 shares during the period. Ranger Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $81,424,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 283,567 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $56,614,000 after acquiring an additional 3,940 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,429,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 157,865 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,518,000 after acquiring an additional 37,696 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Martine Zimmermann sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.00, for a total transaction of $342,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,645. This represents a 23.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.09, for a total value of $1,430,450.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 36,514 shares in the company, valued at $10,446,290.26. The trade was a 12.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,979 shares of company stock worth $14,623,948. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Ligand Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS was $2.67, exceeding the $2.33 analyst consensus, while revenue of $78.75 million also topped the $77 million estimate. Ligand Q3 earnings flash
• Positive Sentiment: Royalty revenue rose 51% year over year to $70.3 million, highlighting the strength of Ligand’s royalty-based business and supporting investor optimism about recurring revenue growth. Ligand third-quarter financial results
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its full-year 2026 adjusted diluted EPS guidance to $9.50-$9.75 from $9.00-$9.50 and reaffirmed its revenue outlook, providing a stronger earnings outlook. Ligand third-quarter guidance update
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target to $357 from $345 and maintained an “outperform” rating, signaling continued analyst confidence in LGND’s outlook. Royal Bank of Canada rating update
• Neutral Sentiment: The quarterly report was mixed: revenue declined 31.8% year over year and EPS fell from $3.09 in the prior-year quarter, but the results still exceeded expectations because of the company’s royalty performance and earnings mix. Ligand third-quarter earnings results

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ LGND opened at $322.75 on Monday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $175.89 and a 1-year high of $326.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $296.39 and a 200-day moving average of $252.30. The company has a current ratio of 13.35, a quick ratio of 30.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.08, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.16.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $78.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.00 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 5.22% and a net margin of 20.27%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was down 31.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.09 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $358.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, September 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.22.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, acquires and licenses technologies intended to improve the development and commercialization of medicines. Rather than operating primarily as a traditional drug manufacturer, Ligand generally works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners, receiving licensing payments, royalties and other consideration tied to partnered products.

The company’s principal technology is Captisol, a modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain active pharmaceutical ingredients.