Insider Selling: Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Sells $132,523.50 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total transaction of $132,523.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,610 shares in the company, valued at $2,557,963.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ LGND opened at $99.38 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $102.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $49.24 and a 12-month high of $112.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.04 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on LGND. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $144.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Benchmark increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Craig Hallum boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,884,112 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $137,729,000 after buying an additional 7,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 708,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,707,000 after acquiring an additional 44,543 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 659,434 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,097,000 after acquiring an additional 191,870 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 124.3% during the second quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 514,946 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,389,000 after purchasing an additional 285,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.6% during the first quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC now owns 490,752 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,874,000 after purchasing an additional 62,701 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.