Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $337.89

Key Points

• Analysts remain bullish: All 10 covering analysts rate Ligand Pharmaceuticals a “Buy,” with an average 12-month price target of $337.89. Recent targets include $345 from Barclays, $358 from HC Wainwright, and $388 from Bank of America.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: Ligand reported adjusted EPS of $2.37 versus the $1.97 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 33.8% year over year to $63.69 million. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $9.00–$9.50.
• Shares have gained, but insiders have been selling: LGND opened at $301.52, near its 52-week high of $326.63, with a market capitalization of about $6.01 billion. Insiders sold 54,979 shares worth approximately $16.1 million over the past three months, while institutional investors own 91.28% of the stock.

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $337.89.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on LGND shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $358.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $345.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jason Haas sold 7,138 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.81, for a total value of $2,090,077.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,165,676.61. This represents a 64.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Martine Zimmermann sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.00, for a total value of $342,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,897 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,110,645. The trade was a 23.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 54,979 shares of company stock worth $16,114,948 over the last three months. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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 valued at $201,623,000 after purchasing an additional 14,491 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $93,809,000 after buying an additional 266,304 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 493,589 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $93,336,000 after buying an additional 19,400 shares during the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $81,424,000. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the first quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 283,567 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $56,614,000 after acquiring an additional 3,940 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND stock opened at $301.52 on Monday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $166.10 and a 52 week high of $326.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $290.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $258.69. 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 stock has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.11.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.40. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 20.06% and a net margin of 67.88%.The company had revenue of $63.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: New Barclays coverage: Barclays initiated coverage of Ligand with an “overweight” rating and a $345 price target, implying meaningful upside from the referenced price. The endorsement adds a new positive institutional view of Ligand’s royalty and drug-development platform.
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright remains bullish: The firm reaffirmed its “buy” rating and raised or maintained a $358 price target, indicating confidence in Ligand’s earnings outlook and partnered drug pipeline.
• Positive Sentiment: AvenCell financing expands pipeline exposure: Ligand agreed to provide up to $47 million to AvenCell Therapeutics to advance next-generation, controllable allogeneic CAR-T therapies for cancer. The transaction gives Ligand potential participation in an emerging cell-therapy platform and could create future royalty or milestone opportunities, although returns depend on clinical and commercial success. Ligand and AvenCell Therapeutics financing agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Additional positive analyst sentiment: Citigroup reportedly expects Ligand’s stock to rise, adding to the generally favorable analyst backdrop. Citigroup analyst outlook for Ligand Pharmaceuticals
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed healthcare-sector views: A broader analyst report describes conflicting sentiment across Amgen, Ligand and Compass Therapeutics; however, the specific recent ratings highlighted for Ligand are favorable. Analyst sentiment on healthcare companies
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data is unclear: A report described a large increase in short interest but listed total short interest at zero shares and a zero-day days-to-cover ratio, suggesting the data may be incomplete or anomalous rather than a meaningful trading signal.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.