Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Insider Andrew Reardon Sells 5,000 Shares

Key Points

• Insider sale: Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares for approximately $1.45 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing his direct ownership by 10.75% to 41,514 shares.
• Stock performance: LGND recently traded at $300.79, near its 12-month high of $326.63, with a $6.03 billion market capitalization. The company’s latest quarterly earnings and revenue fell short of analyst expectations, despite year-over-year revenue growth of 14.1%.
• Analyst outlook: Wall Street maintains a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with seven Buy ratings and one Hold rating and an average price target of $326. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s shares.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.99, for a total value of $1,444,950.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,514 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,997,130.86. The trade was a 10.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Wednesday, July 1st, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.28, for a total value of $1,566,400.00.
• On Monday, June 1st, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.06, for a total value of $1,135,300.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LGND traded up $8.75 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $300.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 329,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,090. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $132.21 and a 12 month high of $326.63. The firm has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $280.79 and a 200-day moving average of $232.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The company had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $59.10 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $93,809,000 after buying an additional 266,304 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 64.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 378,295 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $67,011,000 after acquiring an additional 148,437 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 385,028.9% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 146,349 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,670,000 after acquiring an additional 146,311 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,813,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $21,498,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on LGND shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $387.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $326.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company's product offerings center around several core platforms.

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