Insider Selling: Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Sells 31,641 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Ligand CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 31,641 shares at an average price of $292.06, generating approximately $9.24 million. The Rule 10b5-1 transaction reduced his holdings by 53.32% to 27,696 shares.
• Ligand shares rose 2.0% to $294.60, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $2.37 and revenue of $63.69 million, exceeding analyst estimates and marking 33.8% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with nine analysts rating the stock a Buy and a consensus price target of $335.75; recent target increases include Bank of America’s $388 objective.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 31,641 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.06, for a total transaction of $9,241,070.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,696 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of LGND traded up $5.78 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $294.60. The stock had a trading volume of 197,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,456. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $149.51 and a 1-year high of $326.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $290.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $238.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 34.52 and a quick ratio of 20.95.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $63.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.30 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 20.06% and a net margin of 67.88%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LGND has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $330.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $289.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $335.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,050.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,040.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 342 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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