Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $147.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LGND shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total transaction of $297,501.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 29,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,649,529.75. The trade was a 7.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total value of $244,842.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,402,691.39. This trade represents a 9.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $106.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.34 and a beta of 1.05. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $67.53 and a 1 year high of $129.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $116.03 and its 200 day moving average is $106.05.

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.