Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the ten brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $337.89.

LGND has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $326.00 price objective (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $358.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, September 24th.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $302.96 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $262.11. The company has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.14. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $175.89 and a fifty-two week high of $326.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 30.96 and a current ratio of 31.18.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.40. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 67.88% and a return on equity of 20.06%. The business had revenue of $63.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Martine Zimmermann sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.00, for a total transaction of $342,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,645. The trade was a 23.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 31,641 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.06, for a total value of $9,241,070.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,088,893.76. The trade was a 53.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,979 shares of company stock valued at $14,548,548. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,359,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $93,809,000 after purchasing an additional 266,304 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 265.4% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 117,432 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $22,204,000 after purchasing an additional 85,297 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 493,589 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $93,336,000 after purchasing an additional 19,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Future Fund LLC lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 49.1% during the first quarter. Future Fund LLC now owns 13,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,763,000 after buying an additional 4,560 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical company that develops and licenses technologies and drug assets to pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners. Rather than operating primarily as a traditional commercial drug manufacturer, Ligand focuses on building a portfolio of royalty agreements, licensing arrangements and other partnerships that can generate payments when partnered products are developed, approved and sold.

The company’s best-known technology is Captisol, a chemically modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain drug compounds.