Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Coverage Initiated at Citigroup

Research analysts at Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) in a research report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 27.19% from the company’s current price.

LGND has been the topic of several other research reports. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $304.26 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of 41.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $268.52 and a 200-day moving average of $227.16. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $129.55 and a 1-year high of $326.63.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.88, for a total transaction of $1,151,790.08. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,765,982.72. The trade was a 14.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,541,766. This trade represents a 6.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 35,698 shares of company stock valued at $9,019,252 over the last three months. Insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth about $344,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after buying an additional 809 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 55,327 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,817,000 after buying an additional 4,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 176.2% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after buying an additional 23,553 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

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.