Company: LGNZZ
Filing Date: 2025-04-22
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000886163-25-000025
Chunk: 33

Company: LIGAND PHARMACEUTICALS INC
Filing Date: 2025-04-22
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 33
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 shows the five-year cumulative total stockholder return assuming the investment of $100 and is based on the returns of the component companies weighted monthly according to their market capitalizations. The graph compares total stockholder returns of our common stock and of the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index and the NASDAQ Composite Index, as prepared by The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc.

While Ligand has historically shown exceptional periods of growth as compared to the biotech sector index, challenges have arisen that have hampered the biotech sector as a whole and Ligand’s growth strategy. Recognizing these challenges, the Board has focused on adjusting the corporate strategy to capitalize on the most promising growth opportunities, including targeting specific growth metrics in both the annual performance-based cash program and the long-term performance-based equity incentive program.

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Because of the importance of tying executive compensation outcomes to long-term stockholder value creation, relative total stockholder return as compared to the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index was selected by our Human Capital Management and Compensation Committee as one of the two performance objectives for purposes of the PSUs granted to our named executive officers in both 2022 and 2023. The PSUs granted in 2024 were tied to two corporate goals with equal weightings: (i) projected 2028 revenue from the new deals entered from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2025 and (ii) the compound annual growth rate of adjusted EPS from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2026.

The stockholder return shown on the graph below is not necessarily indicative of future performance and we will not make or endorse any predictions to future stockholder returns.

### COMPENSATION PHILOSOPHY AND OBJECTIVES
The Human Capital Management and Compensation Committee has designed our executive compensation program with the following key principles in mind:

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| Attract and Retain the Right Individuals                                |     | Our compensation program is designed to attract, motivate and retain individuals of superior ability and managerial talent critical to its long-term success.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| Pay for Performance                                                     |     | The majority of our named executive officers’ total compensation ties compensation directly to the achievement of corporate objectives, increases in our stock price or both. We emphasize pay for performance in order to create incentives to achieve key strategic and corporate performance objectives, align executive compensation with our business strategy and the creation of long-term stockholder value.                                                                 |
| Align Executive Pay with Corporate Objectives and Stockholder Interests |     | Our compensation program aligns executive compensation with our