Key Points
- Director sale: Ligand director Stephen Sabba sold 2,034 shares on March 3 at an average of $201.50 for $409,851, trimming his stake by 5.68% to 33,793 shares.
- Strong quarterly results: The company reported $2.02 EPS (vs. $1.46 expected) and $59.67M revenue (+39.5% YoY), and issued FY2026 guidance of 8.00–9.00 EPS.
- Positive analyst and institutional interest: Consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" with a $245.17 price target after several upgrades, and institutional/hedge funds own about 91.28% of the stock.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) Director Stephen Sabba sold 2,034 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $409,851.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,809,289.50. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance
LGND traded down $4.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $201.90. 77,453 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 209,383. The business's 50-day moving average price is $194.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a PE ratio of 34.63 and a beta of 1.17. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $93.58 and a 1-year high of $212.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 22.23 and a quick ratio of 21.98.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 46.42% and a return on equity of 13.86%. The business had revenue of $59.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.59 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. 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.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms recently commented on LGND. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $231.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $245.17.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Ligand Pharmaceuticals
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals
Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $2,789,955,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $85,232,000 after purchasing an additional 22,629 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 667,311 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $118,207,000 after purchasing an additional 19,370 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile
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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.
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