Insider Selling: Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) COO Sells $989,121.84 in Stock

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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $99.38 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $49.24 and a 1 year high of $112.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $102.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.13.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.04 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,708 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 14,344 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 32,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,390,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,442,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.