Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Sells 7,138 Shares of Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Jason Haas sold 7,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.81, for a total transaction of $2,090,077.78. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,165,676.61. This trade represents a 64.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• On Friday, June 12th, Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total value of $1,651,302.38.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of LGND stock traded up $5.78 on Friday, reaching $294.60. 197,208 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 280,456. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $149.51 and a 12-month high of $326.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 34.52. The company has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $290.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $238.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.40. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 20.06% and a net margin of 67.88%.The firm had revenue of $63.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LGND has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $387.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $289.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $335.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 681 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 2,872 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 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.