Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Insider Sells $57,270.00 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.54, for a total value of $57,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,711,439.62. The trade was a 1.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

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

• On Thursday, May 15th, Andrew Reardon sold 1,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total transaction of $104,000.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND traded down $2.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $112.25. The stock had a trading volume of 46,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,179. The company has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.79 and a beta of 0.83. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $77.53 and a fifty-two week high of $129.90. The business's 50-day moving average price is $105.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.75.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.10. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 4.95%. The company had revenue of $45.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.84 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 10,739 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,150,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $975,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 18,058 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,935,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust of NJ purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $146.14.

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.