Sabba Stephen L 4

What Happened
Stephen L. Sabba, a director of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND), exercised 2,145 stock option/derivative units on 2026-06-16 at an adjusted exercise price of $66.13 (cost $141,849) and immediately sold the 2,145 shares in an open-market transaction at $254.00 per share for gross proceeds of $544,830 (net cash roughly $402,981 before taxes and fees). The Form 4 lists the derivative conversion/exercise and the subsequent sale on the same date.

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-06-16; Form 4 filed 2026-06-18 (filed timely).
• Exercise: 2,145 shares @ $66.13 = $141,849 (acquired via exercise/conversion).
• Sale: 2,145 shares @ $254.00 = $544,830 (open-market sale).
• Derivative line shows the conversion/exercise recorded as disposed at $0 — standard reporting when a derivative is exercised/converted into shares.
• Shares owned after the transaction: not specified in the provided excerpt.
• Footnote highlights: (F1) 836 restricted shares granted by the board at the 2026 meeting (previously reported 6/9/2026); (F2) the exercised grant traces to a 2017 board-approved grant originally for 2,456 shares, adjusted to 2,145 shares and with an adjusted exercise price due to the OmniAb separation.
• No 10b5-1 plan or tax-withholding details were indicated in the provided excerpt.

Context

• This is an “exercise then sell” (cashless-style) transaction: options/derivatives were exercised and the shares were sold the same day — a common way for insiders to realize option value and cover exercise costs/taxes.
• Sales by insiders can be routine and do not by themselves indicate management’s view of the company; purchases typically carry clearer bullish signals.