Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Ligand Pharmaceuticals' shares gapped down from $150.06 to $138.37 before trading, ultimately closing at $139.51 with a trading volume of 85,714 shares.
• Wall Street analysts have upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals, with a majority rating it as a "buy" and raising the price target to an average of $157.00.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $1.60 per share, exceeding estimates, and showed a revenue increase of 14.7% year-over-year to $47.63 million.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $150.06, but opened at $138.37. Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $139.51, with a volume of 85,714 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on LGND. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.71 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $125.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.54.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.87 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.88, for a total transaction of $61,587.96. Following the sale, the director owned 45,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,065,029.32. The trade was a 1.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.08, for a total value of $57,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 31,903 shares in the company, valued at $3,639,494.24. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,401 shares of company stock worth $292,648. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 258.1% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 18,085 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,056,000 after purchasing an additional 13,035 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $85,232,000 after purchasing an additional 22,629 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.5% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,089 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 51.3% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 48,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,552,000 after acquiring an additional 16,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 13.3% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,858 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $26,130,000 after acquiring an additional 27,030 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

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.