Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives $132.83 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $132.83.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $144.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Benchmark increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 5.0 %

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $109.81 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $104.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.30. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $50.87 and a 12 month high of $115.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total value of $159,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,392.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total transaction 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 22,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,397,392.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,613 shares of company stock worth $5,255,692 in the last three months. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Chicago Capital LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 124.3% during the second quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 514,946 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,389,000 after acquiring an additional 285,350 shares in the last quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $14,367,000. F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $11,350,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 708,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,707,000 after acquiring an additional 44,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 155.3% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 73,161 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,348,000 after acquiring an additional 44,499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

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.