Key Points
- Director Stephen Sabba sold 1,000 shares on March 23 at an average price of $207.87 for proceeds of $207,870, trimming his stake by 2.96% to 32,793 shares (≈$6.82M).
- Ligand beat Q results—$2.02 EPS vs. $1.46 est. and revenue of $59.67M (up 39.5% YoY)—and provided FY2026 guidance of 8.00–9.00 EPS.
- Institutional investors own about 91.28% of the stock and Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive (seven Buy, one Hold) with an average target price of $245.86.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) Director Stephen Sabba sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.87, for a total value of $207,870.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 32,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,816,680.91. The trade was a 2.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance
Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $204.56 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 35.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.64. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $93.58 and a one year high of $227.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 21.98 and a current ratio of 22.23.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.59 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. The company's revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $2,789,955,000. Acuitas Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,922.9% in the 3rd quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 402,494 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $71,298,000 after acquiring an additional 382,597 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the 4th 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. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 676.6% in the 3rd 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 lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 541,845 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $95,982,000 after acquiring an additional 202,103 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
LGND has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $244.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Seven equities research 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, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $245.86.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Ligand Pharmaceuticals
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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