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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.06, for a total value of $1,135,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,396,196.92. The trade was a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Friday, May 1st, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.31, for a total value of $1,156,550.00.
• On Wednesday, April 1st, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.24, for a total value of $1,006,200.00.
• On Wednesday, March 4th, Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.35, for a total value of $1,031,750.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $232.76 on Wednesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $101.30 and a 1 year high of $247.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $218.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.58, a PEG ratio of 2.44 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 (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.71.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $1,337,000. Argent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $696,000. Cim Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the first quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 157,865 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,518,000 after purchasing an additional 37,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $201,623,000 after purchasing an additional 14,491 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.