Granahan Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 24,962 Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Granahan Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 24,962 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,422,000. Granahan Investment Management LLC owned 0.13% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LGND. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplex Trading LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $61,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $207.80 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $196.59 and its 200 day moving average is $189.79. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $93.58 and a one year high of $227.92. The firm has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.64, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 22.23 and a quick ratio of 21.98.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $59.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.59 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 46.42%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.35, for a total transaction of $1,031,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,607,918.15. This represents a 11.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 13,423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.83, for a total transaction of $2,762,856.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,458,689.46. The trade was a 38.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 24,915 shares of company stock worth $5,165,939 over the last quarter. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $231.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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.