Aberdeen Group plc Lowers Stock Position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Aberdeen Group plc cut its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 37.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 119,309 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 70,439 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.61% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $22,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $47,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $199.59 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 22.23 and a quick ratio of 21.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $197.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.43. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $93.58 and a 12 month high of $227.92.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $59.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.59 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 46.42% and a return on equity of 13.86%. The business’s revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. Analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.24, for a total value of $1,006,200.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,327,713.68. This trade represents a 10.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 3,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $687,825.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,727,250. This represents a 12.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 30,915 shares of company stock valued at $6,385,917 over the last ninety days. 7.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LGND. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $270.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.86.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company’s product offerings center around several core platforms.