LIGAND PHARMACEUTICALS INC

LGND, LGNDZ, LGNXZ, LGNYZ, LGNZZ · Pharmaceutical Preparations · 20.0M shares · -3%/yr ↓ buyback · EDGAR filings ↗

Reference price $254.00 · est. market cap ~$5.1B — last insider sale, 2026-06-16 (estimated from the dated SEC Form 4 price × shares outstanding — not a live quote)

Grade

B74

Biotech royalty/IP company — profitable with strong returns and a cash-rich balance sheet; earnings are lumpy.

Strengths

Profitable, strong returns — operating margin 15% (86th), ROA 8% (92nd), net margin 46%
Cash-rich — current ratio 22.2 (95th)
Growth — revenue +60%

Risks

Royalty/milestone-driven earnings are lumpy — net income comp -3187%
Portfolio-acquisition execution — per 10-K
Counterparty (partner-drug) dependence — per 10-K

Notable findings

Fund exitedNotable fund(s) exited this quarter: VANGUARD GROUP INC, Bridgewater Associates, LP
Exec changeRecent 8-K item 5.02 8-K ↗
Strong balance sheetStrong balance sheet — $734M cash & investments
Buying back stockNet buyback — share count -3%/yr over 4y
Notable holderHeld by 4 notable fund(s): STATE STREET CORP, FMR LLC, GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC +1 more (as of 2026-03-31)
Revenue declineRevenue -13.3% YoY
Insider sellingInsider selling — 83 open-market sale(s) by 7 insider(s) (cluster of 7 insiders, ~$14M, last 6mo) Form 4 ↗

Quarterly revenue

2025-06-30 · $48M2025-09-30 · $115M2025-12-31 · $60M2026-03-31 · $52M

Last 4 quarters · from SEC filings.

Key metrics

Operating margin

15.3%

Net margin

46.4%

Return on equity

12.2%

Return on assets

8.0%

Revenue growth (QoQ)

-13.3%

Current ratio

22.2×

Free cash flow

$49M

EBITDA

$75M

Tangible book value

$690M

Cash & investments

$734M

Stock comp / revenue

17.5%

Insider transactions · last 18 months

Date	Insider	Type	Shares	Price
2026-06-16	Sabba Stephen L	Sell	2.1K	$254.00
2026-06-16	Sabba Stephen L	Option exercise	2.1K	$66.13
2026-06-12	Haas Jason	Option exercise	3.0K	$51.56
2026-06-12	Haas Jason	Sell	3.5K	$256.08
2026-06-12	Haas Jason	Sell	3.0K	$255.01
2026-06-12	Haas Jason	Option exercise	1.0K	$51.56
2026-06-11	Aryeh Jason	Sell	4.5K	$250.00
2026-06-10	Aryeh Jason	Sell	500	$250.00
2026-06-10	LAMATTINA JOHN L	Sell	257	$247.22
2026-06-10	LAMATTINA JOHN L	Sell	232	$248.11
2026-06-10	LAMATTINA JOHN L	Sell	697	$249.53
2026-06-10	LAMATTINA JOHN L	Sell	3.4K	$251.62
2026-06-05	Gray Nancy Ryan	Grant	836	—
2026-06-05	Zimmermann Martine	Grant	836	—
2026-06-05	Zimmermann Martine	Tax withheld	182	$237.00
2026-06-05	Sabba Stephen L	Grant	836	—
2026-06-05	LAMATTINA JOHN L	Grant	836	—
2026-06-05	KOZARICH JOHN W	Grant	836	—
2026-06-05	Haas Jason	Grant	836	—
2026-06-05	Aryeh Jason	Grant	836	—
2026-06-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	1.4K	$225.97
2026-06-01	Reardon Andrew	Option exercise	5.0K	$52.27
2026-06-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	491	$223.95
2026-06-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	677	$225.20
2026-06-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	400	$226.78
2026-06-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	584	$228.57
2026-06-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	1.2K	$229.47
2026-06-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	200	$230.41
2026-05-27	Espinoza Octavio	Option exercise	764	$63.62
2026-05-27	Espinoza Octavio	Option exercise	972	$52.84
2026-05-13	KOZARICH JOHN W	Option exercise	1.6K	$69.51
2026-05-13	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	1.6K	$223.50
2026-05-12	KOZARICH JOHN W	Option exercise	459	$69.51
2026-05-12	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	459	$224.00
2026-05-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	116	$234.09
2026-05-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	80	$227.37
2026-05-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	800	$234.02
2026-05-01	Reardon Andrew	Option exercise	5.0K	$52.27
2026-05-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	600	$227.45
2026-05-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	932	$228.75
2026-05-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	98	$229.71
2026-05-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	370	$230.87
2026-05-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	780	$232.04
2026-05-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	1.4K	$232.92
2026-05-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	165	$231.87
2026-05-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	1	$229.87
2026-05-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	105	$232.57
2026-04-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	1.3K	$199.72
2026-04-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	146	$199.97
2026-04-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	40	$201.24
2026-04-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	79	$202.42
2026-04-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	43	$202.91
2026-04-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	159	$204.26
2026-04-01	Reardon Andrew	Option exercise	5.0K	$52.27
2026-04-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	460	$198.85
2026-04-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	1.2K	$200.94
2026-04-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	700	$201.90
2026-04-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	963	$203.22
2026-04-01	Reardon Andrew	Sell	337	$204.50
2026-03-23	Sabba Stephen L	Sell	1.0K	$207.87
2026-03-11	Espinoza Octavio	Sell	3.1K	$225.00
2026-03-11	Espinoza Octavio	Option exercise	2.4K	$92.65
2026-03-06	LAMATTINA JOHN L	Sell	2.2K	$200.76
2026-03-06	LAMATTINA JOHN L	Option exercise	2.2K	$114.15
2026-03-04	Espinoza Octavio	Sell	2.5K	$207.91
2026-03-04	Reardon Andrew	Sell	93	$200.62
2026-03-04	Reardon Andrew	Sell	300	$201.70
2026-03-04	Reardon Andrew	Sell	200	$204.17
2026-03-04	Reardon Andrew	Sell	460	$205.18
2026-03-04	Reardon Andrew	Sell	340	$206.37
2026-03-04	Reardon Andrew	Sell	612	$207.01
2026-03-04	Reardon Andrew	Sell	1.4K	$208.12
2026-03-04	Reardon Andrew	Sell	1.1K	$208.87
2026-03-04	Espinoza Octavio	Option exercise	1.6K	$58.49
2026-03-04	Espinoza Octavio	Option exercise	466	$80.72
2026-03-04	Espinoza Octavio	Sell	699	$198.71
2026-03-04	Espinoza Octavio	Sell	53	$200.08
2026-03-04	Espinoza Octavio	Sell	698	$201.09
2026-03-04	Espinoza Octavio	Sell	950	$201.73
2026-03-04	Espinoza Octavio	Sell	697	$202.79
2026-03-04	Espinoza Octavio	Sell	668	$203.63
2026-03-04	Espinoza Octavio	Sell	743	$204.74
2026-03-04	Espinoza Octavio	Sell	1.5K	$205.79
2026-03-04	Espinoza Octavio	Sell	1.6K	$206.89
2026-03-04	Espinoza Octavio	Sell	3.4K	$208.80
2026-03-04	Reardon Andrew	Option exercise	5.0K	$52.27
2026-03-04	Reardon Andrew	Sell	100	$197.70
2026-03-04	Reardon Andrew	Sell	100	$199.00
2026-03-04	Reardon Andrew	Sell	207	$199.96
2026-03-03	Sabba Stephen L	Sell	2.0K	$201.50
2026-03-03	Sabba Stephen L	Option exercise	2.0K	$69.51
2026-03-02	Reardon Andrew	Grant	4.5K	—
2026-03-02	Davis Todd C	Grant	10K	—
2026-03-02	Espinoza Octavio	Grant	4.9K	—
2026-03-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	47	$197.14
2026-03-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	204	$199.69
2026-03-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	41	$200.40
2026-03-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	83	$201.65
2026-03-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	50	$202.54
2026-03-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	42	$203.57
2026-02-15	Davis Todd C	Tax withheld	2.8K	$183.83
2026-02-15	Davis Todd C	Tax withheld	4.3K	$183.83
2026-02-15	Reardon Andrew	Tax withheld	801	$183.83
2026-02-15	Reardon Andrew	Tax withheld	992	$183.83
2026-02-15	Espinoza Octavio	Tax withheld	1.2K	$183.83
2026-02-15	Davis Todd C	Tax withheld	2.0K	$183.83
2026-02-15	Espinoza Octavio	Tax withheld	1.0K	$183.83
2026-02-15	Reardon Andrew	Tax withheld	593	$183.83
2026-02-15	Espinoza Octavio	Tax withheld	1.3K	$183.83
2026-02-14	Espinoza Octavio	Tax withheld	3.8K	$183.83
2026-02-14	Reardon Andrew	Grant	6.9K	—
2026-02-14	Reardon Andrew	Tax withheld	3.2K	$183.83
2026-02-14	Reardon Andrew	Grant	8.8K	—
2026-02-14	Reardon Andrew	Tax withheld	4.1K	$183.83
2026-02-14	Espinoza Octavio	Grant	7.4K	—
2026-02-14	Espinoza Octavio	Grant	8.8K	—
2026-02-14	Espinoza Octavio	Tax withheld	4.5K	$183.83
2026-02-14	Davis Todd C	Grant	21K	—
2026-02-14	Davis Todd C	Tax withheld	8.2K	$183.83
2026-02-14	Davis Todd C	Grant	40K	—
2026-02-14	Davis Todd C	Tax withheld	16K	$183.83
2026-02-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	39	$191.00
2026-02-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	23	$195.60
2026-02-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	381	$196.36
2026-02-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	1	$192.18
2026-02-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	23	$197.19
2026-01-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	21	$186.59
2026-01-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	91	$187.95
2026-01-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	102	$188.96
2026-01-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	207	$190.27
2026-01-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	46	$192.40
2025-12-31	Espinoza Octavio	Other	8	$95.68
2025-12-16	Espinoza Octavio	Option exercise	1.2K	$52.84
2025-12-16	Espinoza Octavio	Option exercise	69	$57.22
2025-12-16	Espinoza Octavio	Option exercise	285	$63.62
2025-12-16	Espinoza Octavio	Option exercise	652	$92.65
2025-12-16	Espinoza Octavio	Option exercise	181	$103.42
2025-12-12	Espinoza Octavio	Sell	1.8K	$188.31
2025-12-08	Aryeh Jason	Option exercise	2.0K	$69.51
2025-12-05	Espinoza Octavio	Tax withheld	1.9K	$184.87
2025-12-04	Davis Todd C	Gift	130	—
2025-12-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	4	$196.34
2025-12-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	92	$193.86
2025-12-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	179	$194.76
2025-12-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	47	$195.80
2025-12-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	92	$197.72
2025-12-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	23	$199.22
2025-12-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	30	$200.02
2025-11-07	Gray Nancy Ryan	Option exercise	3.6K	$66.19
2025-11-07	Gray Nancy Ryan	Sell	3.6K	$205.45
2025-11-07	Gray Nancy Ryan	Option exercise	3.0K	$73.57
2025-11-07	Gray Nancy Ryan	Sell	3.0K	$205.45
2025-11-07	LAMATTINA JOHN L	Option exercise	2.1K	$66.13
2025-11-07	LAMATTINA JOHN L	Sell	2.1K	$205.45
2025-11-07	LAMATTINA JOHN L	Option exercise	2.0K	$69.51
2025-11-07	LAMATTINA JOHN L	Sell	2.0K	$205.45
2025-11-03	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	84	$189.00
2025-11-03	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	49	$190.26
2025-11-03	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	207	$191.25
2025-11-03	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	127	$192.38
2025-10-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	24	$177.60
2025-10-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	196	$178.41
2025-10-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	155	$180.01
2025-10-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	92	$181.18
2025-09-23	Aryeh Jason	Sell	4.4K	$170.41
2025-09-23	Aryeh Jason	Sell	4.6K	$170.96
2025-09-23	Aryeh Jason	Sell	954	$171.92
2025-09-22	Zimmermann Martine	Tax withheld	115	$170.77
2025-09-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	115	$162.52
2025-09-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	267	$161.51
2025-09-02	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	85	$164.25
2025-08-10	Reardon Andrew	Tax withheld	1.3K	$150.06
2025-08-01	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	467	$131.88
2025-07-10	KOZARICH JOHN W	Sell	934	$125.00
2025-07-01	LIGAND PHARMACEUTICALS INC	Conversion	1.5M	$10.00
2025-06-30	Espinoza Octavio	Other	224	$91.08
2025-06-30	Davis Todd C	Other	233	$91.08
2025-06-30	Reardon Andrew	Other	233	$91.08
2025-06-23	Reardon Andrew	Sell	500	$114.08
2025-06-10	Reardon Andrew	Sell	500	$114.54
2025-06-06	Zimmermann Martine	Grant	1.2K	—
2025-06-06	Gray Nancy Ryan	Grant	1.2K	—
2025-06-06	Aryeh Jason	Grant	1.2K	—
2025-06-06	LAMATTINA JOHN L	Grant	1.2K	—
2025-06-06	Zimmermann Martine	Tax withheld	188	$105.99
2025-06-06	Sabba Stephen L	Grant	1.2K	—
2025-06-06	KOZARICH JOHN W	Grant	1.2K	—
2025-06-06	Haas Jason	Grant	1.2K	—
2025-05-15	Reardon Andrew	Sell	1.0K	$104.00
2025-05-09	Davis Todd C	Buy	1.7K	$104.57
2025-05-09	Davis Todd C	Buy	2.3K	$104.53
2025-05-09	Davis Todd C	Buy	5.5K	$105.67
2025-05-09	Espinoza Octavio	Buy	1.0K	$103.89
2025-05-09	Espinoza Octavio	Buy	500	$104.40
2025-04-01	Sabba Stephen L	Option exercise	2.4K	$52.30
2025-03-04	Reardon Andrew	Grant	6.4K	—
2025-03-04	Davis Todd C	Grant	21K	—
2025-03-04	Espinoza Octavio	Sell	5.0K	$115.03
2025-03-04	Espinoza Octavio	Grant	7.5K	—
2025-02-15	Davis Todd C	Tax withheld	2.2K	$120.00
2025-02-15	Davis Todd C	Tax withheld	4.3K	$120.00
2025-02-15	Reardon Andrew	Tax withheld	1.1K	$120.00
2025-02-15	Reardon Andrew	Tax withheld	876	$120.00
2025-02-15	Espinoza Octavio	Tax withheld	1.0K	$120.00
2025-02-15	Espinoza Octavio	Tax withheld	782	$120.00
2025-02-15	Espinoza Octavio	Tax withheld	1.2K	$120.00
2025-02-14	Espinoza Octavio	Tax withheld	3.8K	$120.00
2025-02-14	Davis Todd C	Grant	21K	—
2025-02-14	Davis Todd C	Tax withheld	7.0K	$120.00
2025-02-14	Espinoza Octavio	Grant	5.4K	—
2025-02-14	Espinoza Octavio	Tax withheld	2.8K	$120.00
2025-02-14	Espinoza Octavio	Grant	7.4K	—
2025-02-14	Reardon Andrew	Grant	6.9K	—
2025-02-14	Reardon Andrew	Tax withheld	2.8K	$120.00
2025-02-14	Reardon Andrew	Grant	5.4K	—
2025-02-14	Reardon Andrew	Tax withheld	1.8K	$120.00
2025-01-17	KOZARICH JOHN W	Option exercise	2.4K	$52.30

All non-derivative Form 4 activity (SEC), newest first.

Clinical trials

Trial	Title	Phase	Status	Primary completion
NCT04627831 ↗	Comparison of Captisol-Enabled™ Iohexol and Omnipaque™ in Patients With Impaired Renal Function Undergoing Coronary Angiography Contrast-induced Nephropathy	PHASE2	Withdrawn	2023-03-01
NCT02672839 ↗	A Comparison Study of the Bioavailability of a Capsule Formulation of LGD-6972 to an Oral Solution Formulation Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM)	PHASE1	Completed	2016-05-01
NCT01919684 ↗	Study to Evaluate Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of LGD-6972 in Healthy Subjects and Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus	PHASE1	Completed	2014-02-01

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (U.S. NIH) · active studies first.

Supply chain

Customers (8)

Amgen
Recordati
Travere Therapeutics
Acrotech Biopharma
Alvogen/Adalvo
Merck
Verona Pharma
Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Suppliers (0)

Named in the 10-K; linked when we track them.

Notable events (8-K)

Date	Items
2026-06-25	Material agreementDebt obligation3.02OtherExhibits	filing ↗
2026-06-22	Material agreementOtherExhibits	filing ↗
2026-06-09	Exec/director changeShareholder vote	filing ↗
2026-05-18	Material agreementExhibits	filing ↗
2026-05-07	ResultsExhibits	filing ↗
2026-04-30	1.02	filing ↗
2026-04-27	Material agreementOther	filing ↗
2026-02-26	ResultsExhibits	filing ↗

Recent filings

Form	Filed	Period	Accession
8-K	2026-06-25	2026-06-25	0001193125-26-282990 ↗
8-K	2026-06-22	2026-06-22	0001193125-26-276694 ↗
8-K	2026-06-09	2026-06-05	0000886163-26-000038 ↗
8-K	2026-05-18	2026-05-16	0001193125-26-228003 ↗
10-Q	2026-05-08	2026-03-31	0000886163-26-000034 ↗
8-K	2026-05-07	2026-05-07	0000886163-26-000030 ↗
8-K	2026-04-30	2026-04-24	0000886163-26-000027 ↗
8-K	2026-04-27	2026-04-27	0001193125-26-179529 ↗
10-K	2026-02-27	2025-12-31	0000886163-26-000006 ↗
8-K	2026-02-26	2026-02-26	0000886163-26-000003 ↗
8-K	2025-12-18	2025-12-18	0001193125-25-324830 ↗
10-Q	2025-11-07	2025-09-30	0000886163-25-000063 ↗