Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Sells 3,000 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Director Jason Aryeh sold 3,000 Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares at an average of $320.05, for about $960,150. He retained 105,476 shares after the sale, a 2.77% reduction in his position.
• Ligand’s latest quarterly results beat analyst estimates for earnings and revenue, but revenue fell 31.8% year over year. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $355.38.
• Shares traded at $316.27 in the report, near their one-year high of $326.63; institutional investors owned 91.28% of the stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) Director Jason Aryeh sold 3,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.05, for a total transaction of $960,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 105,476 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,757,593.80. The trade was a 2.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• On Wednesday, November 4th, Jason Aryeh sold 282 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.99, for a total transaction of $90,237.18.
• 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 value of $451,858.64.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.56 on Thursday, hitting $316.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 246,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 264,901. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.22. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $175.89 and a 1 year high of $326.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $300.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $256.86. The company has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $326.00 price objective (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $330.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $402.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $355.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AlphaGrep UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $394,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 118,399 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $36,984,000 after purchasing an additional 27,506 shares in the last quarter. TIAA CREF Individual & Institutional Services LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $246,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,584,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 50.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 103,754 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $31,277,000 after purchasing an additional 34,866 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company that works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners to develop and commercialize medicines. Rather than focusing primarily on selling drugs directly, Ligand licenses technologies and drug-development assets and may receive royalties and other payments from partner programs. Its technologies include Captisol, a formulation platform designed to improve the solubility and delivery of certain medicines. Ligand also holds economic interests in a portfolio of partnered products and drug candidates across multiple therapeutic areas.

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