Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals to $402 from $397 and maintained a Buy rating, implying 34.5% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: nine analysts rate the stock Buy and one Hold, with a consensus price target of $339.78.
• Shares fell 5.5% on Thursday. The company beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, though revenue declined 31.8% year over year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Citigroup from $397.00 to $402.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. Citigroup's price objective indicates a potential upside of 34.50% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $358.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, September 25th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $345.00 price target for the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $345.00 to $357.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, August 14th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $330.00 target price for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $339.78.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 5.5%

Shares of NASDAQ LGND traded down $17.24 during trading on Thursday, reaching $298.89. The stock had a trading volume of 247,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 267,299. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 30.96 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 133.43, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.16. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $175.89 and a fifty-two week high of $326.63. The business's 50-day moving average price is $298.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $254.08.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $78.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.00 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 5.22% and a net margin of 20.27%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals's revenue was down 31.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 31,641 shares of the company'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 transaction of $9,241,070.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,088,893.76. This represents a 53.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 1,411 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.24, for a total transaction of $451,858.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 109,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,052,829.92. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 57,090 shares of company stock worth $16,866,208 in the last three months. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $201,623,000 after acquiring an additional 14,491 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,940 shares during the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $81,424,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 157,865 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $31,518,000 after purchasing an additional 37,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $41,429,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated NASDAQ: LGND is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, acquires and licenses technologies intended to improve the development and commercialization of medicines. Rather than operating primarily as a traditional drug manufacturer, Ligand generally works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners, receiving licensing payments, royalties and other consideration tied to partnered products.

The company's principal technology is Captisol, a modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain active pharmaceutical ingredients.

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