B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Invests $1.30 Million in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG opened a new position in Ligand, buying 6,879 shares valued at about $1.30 million in Q4, and institutional investors now own roughly 91.28% of the stock.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — including the CFO and a director — with 30,915 shares sold worth about $6.39 million in the last 90 days, leaving insiders with roughly 7% ownership.
• Ligand reported a strong quarter (EPS $2.02 vs. $1.46 estimate; revenue $59.67M, +39.5% YoY), set FY2026 guidance of $8.00–$9.00 EPS, and carries a consensus analyst view of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $247.29.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,879 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,301,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 3,057 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $687,825.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,727,250. The trade was a 12.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.23, for a total transaction of $94,441.41. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 42,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,544,824.19. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,915 shares of company stock valued at $6,385,917. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $231.27 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 21.98 and a current ratio of 22.23. The company has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.14. The firm's fifty day moving average is $206.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.18. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $98.89 and a 52-week high of $238.31.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $59.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.59 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 46.42% and a return on equity of 13.86%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LGND. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $244.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $239.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $247.29.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company's product offerings center around several core platforms.

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