Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Sells 282 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Director Jason Aryeh sold 282 shares for about $90,237 at an average price of $319.99, reducing his stake by 0.26%; he retained 108,476 shares. He had also sold 700 and 1,411 shares in two earlier transactions.
• Ligand reported quarterly EPS of $2.67, beating the $2.33 consensus, and revenue of $78.75 million versus the $77 million estimate. Revenue nevertheless fell 31.8% year over year.
• Analysts’ average rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $339.78; shares traded at $306.20 after rising 2.4% on Friday.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) Director Jason Aryeh sold 282 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.99, for a total value of $90,237.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 108,476 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,711,235.24. The trade was a 0.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Jason Aryeh also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, November 2nd, Jason Aryeh sold 700 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.43, for a total transaction of $224,301.00.
• On Friday, October 30th, Jason Aryeh sold 1,411 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.24, for a total transaction of $451,858.64.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.4%

NASDAQ LGND traded up $7.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $306.20. 130,176 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 266,658. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $175.89 and a 12-month high of $326.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 30.96. The firm has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 136.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.16. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $298.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $254.61.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $78.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.00 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 5.22%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 31.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LGND. Barclays initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, September 25th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $326.00 price objective (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $358.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $339.78.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $37,264,000. JW Asset Management LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 275.0% during the 3rd quarter. JW Asset Management LLC now owns 15,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,686,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 128,643 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $40,184,000 after purchasing an additional 7,203 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 41.4% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 170,089 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $53,131,000 after purchasing an additional 49,785 shares during the period. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 4,433 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,385,000 after buying an additional 1,510 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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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