Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Jason Aryeh Sells 4,500 Shares

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 102,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,645,000. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Jason Aryeh also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, June 10th, Jason Aryeh sold 500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $125,000.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.4%

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $255.54 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.17. 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 Incorporated has a one year low of $110.00 and a one year high of $259.03.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LGND shares. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.71.

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.