Barclays Increases Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Price Target to $125.00

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Barclays from $110.00 to $125.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 8.20% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on LGND. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Benchmark raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $144.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.83.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $115.53 on Monday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $49.79 and a twelve month high of $115.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.30.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. The firm had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.04 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 2,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $97.39 per share, for a total transaction of $243,475.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 123,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,979,943.90. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total transaction of $159,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,397,392.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $97.39 per share, for a total transaction of $243,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 123,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,979,943.90. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,255,692 in the last quarter. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Woodstock Corp grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 29,211 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,924,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,896 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,708 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.