Ligand Pharma Pounded

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND Quote) shares dropped almost 17% after the company announced a first-quarter loss that was better than a year ago, but missed Wall Street expectations by a wide margin.

Ligand announced a first-quarter net loss of $10.3 million, or 18 cents a share, an improvement from the loss of $12.6 million, or 29 cents a share. While Ligand continues to staunch its losses, the company missed the Wall Street estimate of a 6-cent loss by a wide margin.

The results disappointed investors, who moved to sell shares early Wednesday morning, dropping Ligand shares $3.66, or 16.9%, to $18 million on 2.9 million shares traded, well above its average daily trading volume of 1.8 million shares. ...