Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND Shares Sold by Isthmus Partners LLC

Key Points

• Isthmus Partners cut its Ligand Pharmaceuticals stake by 22% in the third quarter, selling 4,609 shares and retaining 16,326 shares worth approximately $5.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 91.28% of the company.
• Analysts remain bullish, with all 10 analysts rating the stock a Buy and a consensus price target of $337.89. Recent target increases included Citigroup’s $397 objective and RBC’s $345 target.
• Ligand reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $2.37 per share versus a $1.97 estimate and revenue of $63.69 million. Revenue rose 33.8% year over year, although company insiders sold nearly $16.1 million in stock during the quarter.

Isthmus Partners LLC cut its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,326 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 4,609 shares during the quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC owned 0.08% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $5,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 118.9% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 243 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. GK Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $122,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14,166.7% during the second quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 428 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $358.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Oppenheimer reiterated 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, Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, August 14th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $330.00 target price for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $337.89.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $307.82 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $175.89 and a fifty-two week high of $326.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 31.18 and a quick ratio of 30.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.14. The company's 50 day moving average price is $293.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $271.91.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 31,641 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was 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 owned 27,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,088,893.76. This represents a 53.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.07, for a total transaction of $1,520,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 31,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,685,845.78. This trade represents a 13.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,979 shares of company stock worth $16,068,898. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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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