Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $257.7143.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LGND. Bank of America began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total value of $1,651,302.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,981 shares in the company, valued at $1,273,043.98. The trade was a 56.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total transaction of $544,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,629 shares in the company, valued at $8,541,766. This represents a 6.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 37,165 shares of company stock worth $8,761,363 over the last three months. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $52,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,040.0% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 342 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $274.88 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $110.00 and a 12-month high of $276.20. The company has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 21.28, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $231.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.81.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.