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 firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,139,647.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of LGND opened at $98.78 on Thursday. 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 $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $102.92 and its 200 day moving average is $88.05.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.04 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The company’s quarterly 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. Equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LGND shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, 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 report 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $107,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.