Key Points
- Insider sale: Director Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares on March 4 at an average price of $206.35 for proceeds of $1,031,750, trimming his stake by 11.94% to 36,869 shares (valued about $7.61M).
- Strong quarterly results and guidance: Ligand reported Q EPS of $2.02 vs. $1.46 expected and revenue of $59.67M (up 39.5% YoY), and set FY 2026 guidance of 8.00–9.00 EPS.
- Market and analyst backdrop: The stock has a $4.03B market cap, is ~91.3% institutionally owned, and carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $245.17 (six Buys, one Hold).
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.35, for a total transaction of $1,031,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 36,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,607,918.15. This trade represents a 11.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance
NASDAQ LGND opened at $201.90 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $194.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.15. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $93.58 and a 12-month high of $212.49. The company has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.63 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 21.98, a current ratio of 22.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.56. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 46.42% and a return on equity of 13.86%. The company had revenue of $59.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.59 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.
Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $2,789,955,000. Acuitas Investments LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,922.9% during the third quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 402,494 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $71,298,000 after acquiring an additional 382,597 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $93,809,000 after acquiring an additional 266,304 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 676.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 254,805 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $45,136,000 after acquiring an additional 221,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted 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. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $245.17.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on LGND
About Ligand Pharmaceuticals
(
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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