Octavio Espinoza Sells 1,275 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total value of $132,523.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,610 shares in the company, valued at $2,557,963.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $99.54. 63,578 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 142,282. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $49.24 and a 1 year high of $112.13. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.25 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,708 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 14,344 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 32,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,390,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LGND has been the topic of several analyst reports. Benchmark boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Craig Hallum upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.