Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Trading Down 7.7% – Here’s Why

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)’s share price fell 7.7% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $115.19 and last traded at $115.19. 77,634 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 134,963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on LGND. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $145.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $113.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.04 and a beta of 1.01.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total value of $132,523.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,610 shares in the company, valued at $2,557,963.40. The trade was a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total transaction of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,244,386.40. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,728 shares of company stock worth $2,271,575 in the last three months. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Woodstock Corp raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 29,211 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,924,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,896 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,708 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.