Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) CFO Octavio Espinoza Sells 31,641 Shares of Stock

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Aug 14th, 2026

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND – Get Free Report) CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 31,641 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.06, for a total value of $9,241,070.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,088,893.76. This represents a 53.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND traded up $5.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $294.60. The company had a trading volume of 197,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,456. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $290.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $238.17. The company has a current ratio of 34.52, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $149.51 and a 52-week high of $326.63.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $63.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.30 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 67.88% and a return on equity of 20.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LGND has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $326.00 price target (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Leerink Partners began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $335.75.

Read Our Latest Analysis on LGND

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $93,809,000 after purchasing an additional 266,304 shares during the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $81,424,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 64.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 378,295 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $67,011,000 after buying an additional 148,437 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 385,028.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 146,349 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,670,000 after buying an additional 146,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $24,813,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

(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.