Insider Selling: Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) COO Sells $653,227.50 in Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 6,275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.10, for a total value of $653,227.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 50,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,285,885.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ LGND opened at $99.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $102.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $49.24 and a 1 year high of $112.13.

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

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 90,056 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $7,588,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,761 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $667,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 37,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,138,000 after buying an additional 3,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $266,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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