Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) COO Sells 9,772 Shares

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total value of $989,121.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,139,647.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of LGND stock opened at $99.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $102.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $49.24 and a 12 month high of $112.13.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.04 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. The firm’s revenue was up 57.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,884,112 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $137,729,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% during the second 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 position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 41.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 124.3% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 514,946 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,389,000 after purchasing an additional 285,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 62,701 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.