Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Insider Andrew Reardon Sells 500 Shares

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.08, for a total transaction of $57,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,639,494.24. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, June 10th, Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.54, for a total transaction of $57,270.00.
• On Thursday, May 15th, Andrew Reardon sold 1,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total value of $104,000.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of LGND traded down $1.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $114.15. The company had a trading volume of 327,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 118,164. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $107.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.03 and a beta of 0.83. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $81.74 and a 52-week high of $129.90.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $789,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $765,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 176.2% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,922 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,882,000 after buying an additional 23,553 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 55,327 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,817,000 after buying an additional 4,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 68,792 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,233,000 after buying an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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