Octavio Espinoza Sells 2,104 Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total transaction of $244,842.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,402,691.39. This trade represents a 9.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $114.25. The company had a trading volume of 144,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,005. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.07. The stock has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.52 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $67.53 and a twelve month high of $129.90.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 8,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 99,034 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,345,000 after buying an additional 13,839 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $580,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LGND. Barclays increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $147.00.

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.