STEVENSON, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The securities litigation law firm of Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation, announces that a class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California on behalf of purchasers of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: LGND) (“Ligand” or the “Company”) securities during the period between November 9, 2015 and November 14, 2016, inclusive (the “Class Period”). Investors who wish to become proactively involved in the litigation have until January 17, 2017 to seek appointment as lead plaintiff.

If you wish to choose counsel to represent you and the Class, you must apply to be appointed lead plaintiff and be selected by the Court. The lead plaintiff will direct the litigation and participate in important decisions including whether to accept a settlement for the Class in the action. The lead plaintiff will be selected from among applicants claiming the largest loss from investment in Ligand securities during the Class Period. Members of the Class will be represented by the lead plaintiff and counsel chosen by the lead plaintiff. No class has yet been certified in the above action.

The complaint accuses the defendants of violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by virtue of the defendants’ failure to disclose during the Class Period that Ligand overstated the value of certain Deferred Tax Assets (“DTA”) by approximately $27.5 million or 13%, its outstanding convertible senior unsecured notes due 2019 should have been classified as short-term debt rather than long-term debt as of December 31, 2015, Ligand did not maintain effective controls over the accuracy and presentation of the accounting for income taxes related to complex transactions, and Ligand lacked effective internal control over financial reporting.

According to the complaint, following a November 14, 2016 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission revealing that its consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2015, December 31, 2015, March 31, 2016 and June 30, 2016 need to be restated and its internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2015, the value of Ligand shares declined significantly.

If you have suffered a loss in excess of $100,000 from investment in Ligand securities purchased on or after November 9, 2015 and held through the revelation of negative information during and/or at the end of the Class Period and would like to learn more about this lawsuit and your ability to participate as a lead plaintiff, without cost or obligation to you, please visit our website at http://www.browerpiven.com/currentsecuritiescases.html. You may also request more information by contacting Brower Piven either by email at [email protected] or by telephone at (410) 415-6616. Brower Piven also encourages anyone with information regarding the Company’s conduct during the period in question to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.

Attorneys at Brower Piven have extensive experience in litigating securities and other class action cases and have been advocating for the rights of shareholders since the 1980s. If you choose to retain counsel, you may retain Brower Piven without financial obligation or cost to you, or you may retain other counsel of your choice. You need take no action at this time to be a member of the class.

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