Jason Haas Sells 6,461 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total transaction of $1,651,302.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,273,043.98. This trade represents a 56.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of LGND stock opened at $255.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.63, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.17. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $227.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.44.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The company’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LGND has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of 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 downgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $1,337,000. Argent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $696,000. Cim Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 157,865 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $31,518,000 after acquiring an additional 37,696 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $201,623,000 after acquiring an additional 14,491 shares during the period. 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.