HC Wainwright Reaffirms Buy Rating for Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND)

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by analysts at HC Wainwright in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $358.00 price objective on the biotechnology company's stock. HC Wainwright's price target indicates a potential upside of 20.03% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $326.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, August 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $330.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $337.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ LGND traded down $0.14 on Thursday, hitting $298.27. 85,075 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 268,772. The company has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 31.18, a quick ratio of 30.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The business's 50 day moving average price is $290.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $257.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $163.45 and a 52-week high of $326.63.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $63.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.30 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 20.06% and a net margin of 67.88%.Ligand Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 31,641 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.06, for a total value of $9,241,070.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,088,893.76. This represents a 53.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.09, for a total value of $1,430,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,446,290.26. This trade represents a 12.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 54,979 shares of company stock worth $16,114,948 in the last ninety days. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $75,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 118.9% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 243 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,040.0% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 342 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 114.5% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 354 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Key Ligand Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Positive Sentiment: New AvenCell financing agreement: Ligand committed up to $47 million to AvenCell Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing controllable, allogeneic CAR-T therapies for cancer. The agreement gives Ligand potential exposure to an innovative cell-therapy pipeline and supports future royalty and milestone economics, although the therapies remain in development. Ligand and AvenCell Therapeutics financing agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Ryjunea royalty acquisition: Ligand agreed to pay Sydnexis $23 million for royalty and milestone interests tied to Santen’s Ryjunea ophthalmic drug in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The transaction expands Ligand’s portfolio of potential recurring royalty income and further demonstrates its asset-focused capital-allocation strategy. Ligand acquires Ryjunea royalty and milestone interest
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright reiterates Buy: The firm maintained its Buy rating and set a $358 price target, implying approximately 18.6% upside based on the cited share price. The target signals continued confidence in Ligand’s royalty portfolio and growth prospects. HC Wainwright rating update
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raises price target: Citi increased its target from $390 to $397 and reaffirmed a Buy rating, suggesting analysts see additional upside after Ligand’s recent gains. Citigroup raises Ligand price target
• Neutral Sentiment: The AvenCell commitment and Ryjunea purchase require upfront capital, and returns depend on clinical development, regulatory approval, commercial performance and future royalty generation. These transactions may therefore increase long-term opportunity while adding execution risk.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, acquires and licenses technologies designed to help pharmaceutical companies discover, develop and commercialize medicines. Rather than focusing primarily on building a large portfolio of internally marketed drugs, Ligand operates an asset-light business model centered on partnerships, licensing agreements, royalties and other economic interests in partnered products.

The company's principal technology is Captisol, a proprietary modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain drug compounds.