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華爾街日報Ligand Pharmaceuticals Insiders Sell US$2.8m Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution
In the last year, many Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders' attention. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.
While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Independent Director, Jason Aryeh, for US$1.7m worth of shares, at about US$172 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$196. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. This single sale was just 12% of Jason Aryeh's stake.
In the last twelve months insiders purchased 11.01k shares for US$1.2m. But insiders sold 18.80k shares worth US$2.8m. In total, Ligand Pharmaceuticals insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
View our latest analysis for Ligand Pharmaceuticals
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Ligand Pharmaceuticals Insiders Are Selling The Stock
The last three months saw significant insider selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals. In total, Chief Financial Officer Octavio Espinoza sold US$340k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.
Does Ligand Pharmaceuticals Boast High Insider Ownership?
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Ligand Pharmaceuticals insiders own about US$80m worth of shares. That equates to 2.1% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Ligand Pharmaceuticals Tell Us?
An insider sold Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Ligand Pharmaceuticals you should be aware of.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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