Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $144.83.

LGND has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $157.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 4.8 %

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $116.86 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $57.00 and a twelve month high of $129.90. The company has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.56 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $108.00 and its 200 day moving average is $98.04.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total value of $989,121.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,139,647.94. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total value of $159,585.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,392.26. The trade was a 6.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,211 shares of company stock worth $3,336,450. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 428,270 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,874,000 after acquiring an additional 22,495 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 7,247 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $210,000. Castleark Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% in the third quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 67,923 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,798,000 after purchasing an additional 6,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 707,414 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,805,000 after buying an additional 18,642 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.