HC Wainwright Has Bearish Estimate for LGND FY2026 Earnings

Key Points

• HC Wainwright cut its FY2026 EPS forecast for Ligand to $2.88 from $5.02, well below the $5.25 consensus estimate. The firm retained its Buy rating and $358 price target.
• Ligand reported quarterly EPS of $2.67, beating the $2.33 consensus, and revenue of $78.75 million, above estimates; however, revenue fell 31.8% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: nine analysts rate the shares Buy and one Hold, with a consensus price target of $339.22.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) - Analysts at HC Wainwright dropped their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, October 29th. HC Wainwright analyst J. Pantginis now forecasts that the biotechnology company will post earnings per share of $2.88 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $5.02. HC Wainwright currently has a "Buy" rating and a $358.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Ligand Pharmaceuticals' current full-year earnings is $5.25 per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Ligand Pharmaceuticals' Q4 2026 earnings at $2.50 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $7.15 EPS.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 5.22% and a net margin of 20.27%. The business had revenue of $78.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.09 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was down 31.8% on a year-over-year basis.

LGND has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $345.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their target price 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. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 14th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $330.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $326.00 price target (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, September 25th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $339.22.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $316.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a PE ratio of 141.13, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average of $298.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $254.08. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $175.89 and a 52-week high of $326.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 30.96 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.07, for a total value of $1,520,350.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 31,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,685,845.78. The trade was a 13.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.24, for a total value of $451,858.64. Following the sale, the director owned 109,458 shares in the company, valued at $35,052,829.92. The trade was a 1.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 57,090 shares of company stock worth $16,866,208. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $201,623,000 after purchasing an additional 14,491 shares during the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $81,424,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,429,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $31,518,000 after buying an additional 37,696 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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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