Matthew E. Korenberg Sells 9,772 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total transaction of $989,121.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 50,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,139,647.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:LGND traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $99.54. 63,578 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 142,282. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $49.24 and a fifty-two week high of $112.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.80.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $41.50 million for 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 business’s revenue was up 57.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 18.7% in the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 90,056 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $7,588,000 after purchasing an additional 14,210 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,761 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $667,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 37,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,138,000 after acquiring an additional 3,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $266,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $144.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Benchmark boosted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.00.

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.