Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Insider Sells $199,200.00 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) insider Andrew Reardon sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total transaction of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at $2,244,386.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Andrew Reardon also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, August 28th, Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total value of $159,585.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $99.38 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $49.24 and a 12-month high of $112.13. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. 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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LGND has been the topic of several research reports. Benchmark raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. 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. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $144.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Craig Hallum increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.