Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Sells $132,523.50 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total transaction of $132,523.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,557,963.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of LGND traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $99.54. The stock had a trading volume of 63,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,282. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $102.95 and its 200 day moving average is $87.80. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.25 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $49.24 and a 1 year high of $112.13.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $107,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Craig Hallum increased their price objective 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 restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.00.

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.