Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Buys $156,090.00 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Octavio Espinoza bought 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $104.06 per share, for a total transaction of $156,090.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 27,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,906,603.92. The trade was a 5.67% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Octavio Espinoza also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, March 4th, Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $575,150.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $105.09 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $106.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.32. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $77.43 and a 52-week high of $129.90. The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 41.87 and a beta of 0.87.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.10. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 4.95%. The company had revenue of $45.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on LGND shares. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 119.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 406 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 825.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.