Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.99, for a total transaction of $1,444,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,514 shares in the company, valued at $11,997,130.86. This trade represents a 10.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Andrew Reardon also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Wednesday, July 1st, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.28, for a total value of $1,566,400.00.
- On Monday, June 1st, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.06, for a total value of $1,135,300.00.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.0%
Shares of LGND opened at $300.79 on Wednesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $132.21 and a 52-week high of $326.63. The company has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a PE ratio of 40.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $282.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.39. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The company's revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 EPS for the current year.
Analyst Ratings Changes
LGND has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $387.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $326.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $326.00.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Ligand Pharmaceuticals
Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Legato Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 26,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,961,000 after acquiring an additional 9,944 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 143,067 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,050,000 after purchasing an additional 31,081 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 130,858 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $24,741,000 after purchasing an additional 21,932 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 493,589 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $93,336,000 after purchasing an additional 19,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.
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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