Key Points
- Octavio Espinoza, Ligand's CFO, sold 1,804 shares at an average price of $188.31 for proceeds of $339,711, leaving him with 26,186 shares (a 6.45% reduction), disclosed in an SEC filing.
- Ligand reported a strong quarter with EPS $3.09 vs. $1.96 expected and revenue up 123% YoY to $86.9M, and set FY2025 guidance of $7.40–$7.65 EPS while analysts have raised price targets and maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" $239.33 target.
- The stock trades with a market cap of $3.79B and a P/E around 93, a 12‑month range of $93.58–$212.49, and is highly institutionally owned (about 91.3%).
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.31, for a total value of $339,711.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,186 shares in the company, valued at $4,931,085.66. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1%
NASDAQ LGND opened at $192.63 on Wednesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $93.58 and a twelve month high of $212.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 24.30 and a current ratio of 24.69. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.06 and a beta of 0.99. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $192.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.75.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $1.13. The firm had revenue of $86.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.71 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 19.34%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 123.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.400-7.650 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.
Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,014 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 575 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 5,446 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
LGND has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $239.33.
Read Our Latest Analysis on LGND
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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