Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Price Target Raised to $262.00

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its price objective hoisted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $252.00 to $262.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of LGND stock opened at $221.41 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $212.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $200.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28. The stock has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a PE ratio of 30.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.20. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $98.89 and a 1 year high of $247.38.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $409,851.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 33,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,809,289.50. This represents a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.35, for a total transaction of $1,031,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 36,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,607,918.15. The trade was a 11.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 35,448 shares of company stock worth $7,450,977. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,342 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 38,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $7,766,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Future Fund LLC grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 49.1% in the first quarter. Future Fund LLC now owns 13,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,763,000 after purchasing an additional 4,560 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.1% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,570 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 358.8% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 107,859 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $21,535,000 after purchasing an additional 84,349 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Ligand Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals to $262 from $252 and kept an outperform rating, implying further upside from current levels. Royal Bank Of Canada raises Ligand price target
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright reiterated a Buy rating and a $289 price target, while also forecasting strong earnings growth into 2026 and 2027, which may be reinforcing bullish sentiment in LGND shares.
• Positive Sentiment: Ligand reported first-quarter results showing 56% year-over-year royalty revenue growth and reaffirmed its previously raised 2026 guidance, helped by anticipated contribution from the pending XOMA Royalty acquisition. Ligand Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Ligand’s Q1 earnings snapshot highlighted mixed results: EPS of $1.63 missed the $1.84 consensus and revenue of $51.72 million also fell short of estimates, though sales still grew 14.1% year over year. Ligand: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company’s product offerings center around several core platforms.