Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $206.81, but opened at $196.96. Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $184.4550, with a volume of 174,262 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 24.30 and a current ratio of 24.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $197.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $171.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.73 and a beta of 0.97.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $1.13. The company had revenue of $86.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.71 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 19.34% and a return on equity of 5.71%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 123.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.400-7.650 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.31, for a total value of $339,711.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,931,085.66. The trade was a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.58, for a total transaction of $88,533.86. Following the sale, the director directly owned 43,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,275,925.32. This represents a 1.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 3,205 shares of company stock valued at $608,923 over the last 90 days. 7.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

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.