Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Sells $1,708,100.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Jason Aryeh, a director at Ligand Pharmaceuticals, sold 10,000 shares of stock worth $1,708,100, representing a 12.61% decrease in his ownership.
• The company's stock recently experienced a 1.0% decline, trading at $168.96, with a market capitalization of $3.31 billion.
• Analysts have upgraded their price targets for Ligand Pharmaceuticals, with recommended prices ranging from $175.00 to $206.00, indicating a consensus rating of "Buy".

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) Director Jason Aryeh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $1,708,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 69,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,835,254.09. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of LGND stock traded down $1.69 on Wednesday, hitting $168.96. 127,322 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 157,208. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.24 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $152.61 and a 200 day moving average of $123.70. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $93.58 and a fifty-two week high of $172.45.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 9.21% and a negative net margin of 40.44%.The company had revenue of $47.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.87 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LGND. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $1,800,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 50,401 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $5,400,000 after acquiring an additional 10,563 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $286,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,612.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 62,348 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,555,000 after acquiring an additional 61,996 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on LGND. Benchmark upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $167.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $176.50.

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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