Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Price Target Raised to $277.00

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its target price upped by Oppenheimer from $275.00 to $277.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

LGND has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $231.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of LGND opened at $198.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 21.98 and a current ratio of 22.23. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $93.58 and a 52-week high of $212.49. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.02 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s fifty day moving average is $193.46 and its 200-day moving average is $185.80.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.56. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 46.42%.The business had revenue of $59.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.31, for a total value of $339,711.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 26,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,931,085.66. The trade was a 6.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.91, for a total transaction of $91,489.97. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,460,765.17. This represents a 1.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,738 shares of company stock worth $519,735. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,789,955,000. Acuitas Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,922.9% during the 3rd quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 402,494 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $71,298,000 after purchasing an additional 382,597 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $93,809,000 after purchasing an additional 266,304 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 676.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 254,805 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,136,000 after purchasing an additional 221,996 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 541,845 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $95,982,000 after purchasing an additional 202,103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ligand Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — non-GAAP EPS $2.02 vs. $1.46 est. and revenue $59.7M vs. $55.6M est.; revenue rose ~39.5% year-over-year, underpinning near-term momentum. Earnings Beat Article
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued very strong FY2026 guidance: adjusted EPS $8.00–$9.00 (vs. consensus ~$4.85) and revenue $245M–$285M (around consensus), signaling meaningful upside to street profitability expectations. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Oppenheimer raised its price target to $277 and kept an “outperform” rating, pointing to significant upside from current levels. Analyst Note
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term growth thesis reinforced — company projects a ~23% CAGR in royalty revenues through 2030 and reported ~48% full-year royalty revenue growth for 2025, supporting durable cash-flow expectations. Royalty Growth Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings-call materials and transcripts are available for detail review — useful to confirm drivers (one-time items, royalty composition, cadence of royalty receipts). Review the call transcript and highlights for management color. Earnings Call Transcript Earnings Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analysts voiced bullish views (e.g., HC Wainwright), which can support sentiment but are not new fundamental data. Analyst Commentary
• Negative Sentiment: Some short-term selling pressure was reported (an article noted ~6% intraday weakness) — likely profit-taking and valuation concerns (LGND’s high P/E) after sharp moves; monitor whether investors question sustainability of the elevated EPS guidance or attribute upside to non-recurring items. Why Stock Fell

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company’s product offerings center around several core platforms.