Key Points
- Director Stephen Sabba sold 2,145 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals on June 16 at an average price of $254, totaling about $544,830. After the sale, he still owned 33,629 shares, reducing his stake by 6%.
- LGND stock was trading higher, opening at $274.88 and up 4.5% on Friday, near its 52-week high of $276.20. The company has a market cap of about $5.51 billion.
- Recent earnings came in below expectations, with quarterly EPS of $1.63 versus the $1.84 consensus and revenue of $51.72 million versus $59.10 million estimated. Despite that miss, revenue rose 14.1% year over year and analysts still see a “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $257.71.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) Director Stephen Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total transaction of $544,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,629 shares in the company, valued at $8,541,766. This represents a 6.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.5%
NASDAQ LGND opened at $274.88 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $110.00 and a 52 week high of $276.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $230.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.35. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a PE ratio of 37.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.17.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 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 the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,789,955,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $201,623,000 after purchasing an additional 14,491 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $85,232,000 after purchasing an additional 22,629 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 36.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 266,304 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages recently weighed in on LGND. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $244.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently 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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