Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Sells $132,523.50 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total value of $132,523.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,557,963.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.8 %

LGND stock opened at $98.78 on Thursday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $49.24 and a 1-year high of $112.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $102.92 and its 200-day moving average is $88.05.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. The company had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 57.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on LGND shares. Benchmark upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $144.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Craig Hallum upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $107,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.