Insider Selling: Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Director Sells $451,858.64 in Stock

Posted by Geri Gentry on Nov 6th, 2026

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND – Get Free Report) Director Jason Aryeh sold 1,411 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.24, for a total transaction of $451,858.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 109,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,052,829.92. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Jason Aryeh also recently made the following trade(s):

On Monday, November 2nd, Jason Aryeh sold 700 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.43, for a total value of $224,301.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 5.4%

LGND opened at $299.00 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $298.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $254.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 30.96 and a current ratio of 1.22. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $175.89 and a one year high of $326.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 133.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.16.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $78.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.00 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 5.22% and a net margin of 20.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 31.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.09 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 51.7% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 4,433 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $31,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $1,335,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,144 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $877,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ligand Pharmaceuticals this week:

Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $402 from $397 and maintained a Buy rating, implying substantial upside from the referenced $299 share price. Citigroup analyst coverage
Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright raised its Q4 2026 EPS estimate to $2.50 from $2.11 and reiterated its Buy rating. HC Wainwright estimates
Neutral Sentiment: Ligand’s latest reported quarter beat EPS and revenue expectations, though revenue fell 31.8% year over year, a mixed fundamental backdrop for investors.
Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright sharply lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate to $2.88 from $5.02 and cut FY2027 to $7.15 from $7.90. Those reduced full-year forecasts may offset the improved Q4 outlook. HC Wainwright estimates
Negative Sentiment: Insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares, reducing his holdings by 13.57%; the transaction was under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Director Jason Aryeh also sold shares, including 700 on November 2, though that sale represented a small reduction in his holdings. Insider transactions

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LGND shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $402.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Leerink Partners began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $326.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $345.00 to $357.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $358.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.78.

View Our Latest Report on LGND

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, acquires and licenses technologies intended to improve the development and commercialization of medicines. Rather than operating primarily as a traditional drug manufacturer, Ligand generally works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners, receiving licensing payments, royalties and other consideration tied to partnered products.

The company’s principal technology is Captisol, a modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain active pharmaceutical ingredients.