Insider Selling: Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) COO Sells $122,109.78 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 1,157 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.54, for a total value of $122,109.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 67,211 shares in the company, valued at $7,093,448.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $106.54 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $49.24 and a one year high of $112.13. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.23.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 8.52% and a net margin of 79.30%. The company had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,884,112 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $137,729,000 after purchasing an additional 7,598 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 708,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,707,000 after purchasing an additional 44,543 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 659,434 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,097,000 after purchasing an additional 191,870 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 124.3% during the 2nd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 514,946 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,389,000 after purchasing an additional 285,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC now owns 490,752 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,874,000 after acquiring an additional 62,701 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Benchmark raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.00.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.