Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Given New $397.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its price target for Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $390 to $397 and maintained a “Buy” rating, implying 32.85% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: nine analysts rate the stock a Buy, with a consensus price target of $337. Ligand shares recently traded at $298.84.
• Ligand reported quarterly EPS of $2.37, beating estimates of $1.97, while revenue rose 33.8% year over year to $63.69 million. Insiders sold nearly $16.1 million of stock over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 91.28% of shares.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by analysts at Citigroup from $390.00 to $397.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. Citigroup's target price suggests a potential upside of 32.85% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on LGND. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $326.00 price target (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective 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. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $289.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $337.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ LGND traded up $0.34 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $298.84. 82,286 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 268,856. The stock has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 30.96 and a current ratio of 31.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $290.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $256.69. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $163.45 and a 1 year high of $326.63.

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

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 36,514 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,446,290.26. This represents a 12.04% decrease in their position. 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, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 31,641 shares of the firm's 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 in the company, valued at $8,088,893.76. This represents a 53.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 54,979 shares of company stock valued at $16,114,948 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $201,623,000 after purchasing an additional 14,491 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 266,304 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 493,589 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $93,336,000 after purchasing an additional 19,400 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 283,567 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $56,614,000 after buying an additional 3,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $81,424,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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