9,208 Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Shares Sold by Moody Aldrich Partners LLC

Key Points

• Moody Aldrich Partners cut its Ligand Pharmaceuticals stake by 32.7% in the third quarter, selling 9,208 shares and retaining 18,952 shares valued at approximately $5.92 million. Institutional investors collectively own 91.28% of LGND.
• Analysts remain bullish, with ten Buy ratings and a consensus rating of Buy; the average price target is $337.89, above the reported opening price of $318.78.
• Ligand exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.37 in EPS versus the $1.97 consensus and $63.69 million in revenue, up 33.8% year over year. However, insiders sold nearly 55,000 shares worth about $16.1 million over the past 90 days.

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,952 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 9,208 shares during the quarter. Ligand Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 1.1% of Moody Aldrich Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC owned about 0.10% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $5,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.8% in the third quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Gibbs Wealth Management boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% in the third quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 7,713 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,409,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,237,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,416 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $755,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,410 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,809,000 after acquiring an additional 1,454 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LGND. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 14th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $330.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $326.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $337.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 31,641 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.06, for a total value of $9,241,070.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,088,893.76. This trade represents a 53.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Martine Zimmermann sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.00, for a total transaction of $342,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,897 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,110,645. This trade represents a 23.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,979 shares of company stock valued at $16,068,898. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ LGND opened at $318.78 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 34.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.14. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $175.89 and a 52 week high of $326.63. The company has a quick ratio of 30.96, a current ratio of 31.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $295.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $251.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated NASDAQ: LGND is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, acquires and licenses technologies intended to improve the development and commercialization of medicines. Rather than operating primarily as a traditional drug manufacturer, Ligand generally works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners, receiving licensing payments, royalties and other consideration tied to partnered products.

The company's principal technology is Captisol, a modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain active pharmaceutical ingredients.

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