Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Monday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $146.14.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $104.54. The stock had a trading volume of 79,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 117,137. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.65 and a beta of 0.87. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $77.43 and a 1-year high of $129.90. The stock's fifty day moving average is $105.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.18.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.84 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 29.68%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 9,510 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $105.20 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,452.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 161,234 shares in the company, valued at $16,961,816.80. This trade represents a 6.27% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total value of $575,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,171,651.37. This trade represents a 20.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LGND. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,085,627 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $223,475,000 after buying an additional 115,005 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake 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 valued at $108,757,000 after buying an additional 5,929 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake 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 valued at $77,470,000 after buying an additional 16,003 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the first quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 554,517 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $58,302,000 after buying an additional 2,929 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.