4,300 Shares in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Purchased by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems acquired 4,300 Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares worth approximately $1.36 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 91.28% of LGND.
• Ligand reported quarterly earnings of $2.37 per share, beating estimates of $1.97, while revenue rose 33.8% year over year to $63.69 million. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $9.00–$9.50.
• Analysts remain bullish, with nine Buy ratings and an average price target of $335.75, although insiders sold 55,924 shares worth roughly $16.3 million over the past 90 days.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,300 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,359,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Legato Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 26,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,961,000 after acquiring an additional 9,944 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $93,809,000 after purchasing an additional 266,304 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 265.4% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 117,432 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $22,204,000 after purchasing an additional 85,297 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 130,858 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $24,741,000 after purchasing an additional 21,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Future Fund LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $1,755,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ LGND opened at $284.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 30.96, a current ratio of 31.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $161.82 and a 52 week high of $326.63. The company has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $294.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $63.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.30 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 67.88% and a return on equity of 20.06%. The company's revenue was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.09, for a total value of $1,430,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,514 shares in the company, valued at $10,446,290.26. The trade was a 12.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jason Haas sold 7,138 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.81, for a total value of $2,090,077.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,165,676.61. This trade represents a 64.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,924 shares of company stock worth $16,317,778. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LGND shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $289.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $387.00 target price on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $335.75.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, acquires and licenses technologies designed to help pharmaceutical companies discover, develop and commercialize medicines. Rather than focusing primarily on building a large portfolio of internally marketed drugs, Ligand operates an asset-light business model centered on partnerships, licensing agreements, royalties and other economic interests in partnered products.

The company's principal technology is Captisol, a proprietary modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain drug compounds.

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