Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Sells $83,798.48 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director John Kozarich sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.44, for a total transaction of $83,798.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 45,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,084,669.20. The trade was a 1.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of LGND opened at $180.99 on Monday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $93.58 and a fifty-two week high of $183.81. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.55. The stock has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of -45.25 and a beta of 0.95.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $47.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.87 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.44% and a negative return on equity of 9.21%. The business’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.000 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Simplex Trading LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 575 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 745 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LGND. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $167.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.50.

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.