Key Points
- Director John Kozarich sold 1,575 Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares at $223.50 each, totaling about $352,013, in a transaction made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
- Ligand reported Q1 earnings that missed expectations, with EPS of $1.63 versus the $1.84 estimate and revenue of $51.72 million versus the $59.10 million forecast, even though sales rose 14.1% year over year.
- Despite the earnings miss, analysts remain generally bullish on LGND, with seven Buy ratings, a consensus Moderate Buy rating, and an average price target of $257.71.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) Director John Kozarich sold 459 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.00, for a total transaction of $102,816.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 41,786 shares in the company, valued at $9,360,064. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance
NASDAQ LGND opened at $218.98 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $98.89 and a 12 month high of $247.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 21.28 and a quick ratio of 20.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.20. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $214.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $201.77.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,789,955,000. Acuitas Investments LLC boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,922.9% in the 3rd quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 402,494 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $71,298,000 after purchasing an additional 382,597 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 266,304 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 221,996 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in 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 worth $95,982,000 after purchasing an additional 202,103 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 research report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $244.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $257.71.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report 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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