Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Sells $116,750.00 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $116,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 46,456 shares in the company, valued at $5,807,000. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND traded down $3.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $121.70. 106,482 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 116,982. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $109.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.09 and a beta of 0.84. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $90.29 and a 12 month high of $129.90.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.10. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 7.83% and a negative net margin of 73.07%. The business had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,085,627 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $223,475,000 after purchasing an additional 115,005 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,015,023 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $108,757,000 after buying an additional 5,929 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 723,019 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $77,470,000 after buying an additional 16,003 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 642,712 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $67,575,000 after buying an additional 21,230 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the first quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 554,517 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $58,302,000 after buying an additional 2,929 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LGND has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $143.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.17.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.

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