Insider Selling: Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Sells 459 Shares of Stock

Posted by Brenda Bartman on May 14th, 2026

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND – Get Free Report) Director John Kozarich sold 459 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.00, for a total transaction of $102,816.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 41,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,360,064. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $2.23 on Thursday, hitting $218.98. 151,157 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 212,691. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $98.89 and a 12-month high of $247.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $214.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $201.77. The company has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.20.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% in the third 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 bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.71.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on LGND

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.