Insider Selling: Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Insider Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares for approximately $1.43 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing his stake by 12.04% to 36,514 shares.
• Strong quarterly results: Ligand reported adjusted earnings of $2.37 per share, beating estimates of $1.97, while revenue rose 33.8% year over year to $63.69 million.
• Positive analyst sentiment: Nine analysts rate LGND a Buy, with a consensus price target of $335.75 versus the article’s reported trading price of $288.83.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.09, for a total transaction of $1,430,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 36,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,446,290.26. This trade represents a 12.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Monday, August 3rd, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.99, for a total value of $1,444,950.00.
• On Wednesday, July 1st, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.28, for a total transaction of $1,566,400.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $3.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $288.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 216,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 270,998. The business has a fifty day moving average of $297.27 and a 200 day moving average of $249.61. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $161.82 and a 1-year 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 30.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.11.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.40. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 67.88% and a return on equity of 20.06%. The business had revenue of $63.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.29 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LGND has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $387.00 target price on the stock. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, August 14th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $330.00 price target on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $335.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LGND. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 681 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the first quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,484 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 2,872 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.