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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $292.8571.

A number of research firms have commented on LGND. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of LGND opened at $300.97 on Wednesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $122.29 and a twelve month high of $326.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $259.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a PE ratio of 40.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 21.28, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its 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). The business had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, 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 sale, the director directly owned 33,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,541,766. The trade was a 6.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 102,580 shares in the company, valued at $25,645,000. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,698 shares of company stock worth $9,019,252. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

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.