Key Points
- Director John Kozarich sold 467 shares on March 2 at an average price of $200.50 for a total of $93,633.50, leaving him with 42,720 shares (a 1.08% ownership decrease).
- Ligand beat expectations with Q earnings of $2.02 per share vs. $1.46 expected and revenue of $59.67M (up 39.5% YoY), and set FY2026 guidance of 8.00–9.00 EPS.
- The stock recently traded near $199.64, has a market cap of $3.98B and ~91% institutional ownership, and carries a MarketBeat consensus of Moderate Buy with an average target of $245.17.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) Director John Kozarich sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.50, for a total transaction of $93,633.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 42,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,565,360. This represents a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance
NASDAQ:LGND traded down $9.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $199.64. 139,827 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 209,576. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 21.98 and a current ratio of 22.23. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $193.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.68. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $93.58 and a fifty-two week high of $212.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24 and a beta of 1.17.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.56. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 46.42%.The company had revenue of $59.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,789,955,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $85,232,000 after buying an additional 22,629 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 667,311 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $118,207,000 after acquiring an additional 19,370 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 541,845 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $95,982,000 after purchasing an additional 202,103 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 516,464 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $97,648,000 after purchasing an additional 138,169 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
LGND has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Benchmark boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $231.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $245.17.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on LGND
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.
The company's product offerings center around several core platforms.
Further Reading
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