What is HC Wainwright’s Forecast for LGND FY2026 Earnings?

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) – Analysts at HC Wainwright raised their FY2026 earnings estimates for Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, December 10th. HC Wainwright analyst J. Pantginis now expects that the biotechnology company will post earnings per share of $4.33 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $1.70. HC Wainwright has a “Buy” rating and a $231.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Ligand Pharmaceuticals’ current full-year earnings is $1.73 per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Ligand Pharmaceuticals’ FY2027 earnings at $6.30 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $228.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.5%

LGND opened at $189.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.57 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $192.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 24.69 and a quick ratio of 24.30. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $93.58 and a fifty-two week high of $212.49.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $1.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 19.34%.The firm had revenue of $86.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 123.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.400-7.650 EPS.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jason Aryeh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $1,708,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 69,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,835,254.09. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.84, for a total value of $91,457.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 44,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,640,656.64. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,401 shares of company stock worth $1,972,576. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.6% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 40,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,254,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,377 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,112,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 745 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the second quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 647,941 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $73,658,000 after purchasing an additional 5,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 36,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,848,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.