Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) has received an average rating of "Buy" from six research firms, with a twelve-month price target of $176.50.
• The company reported earnings of $1.60 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a 14.7% increase in revenue from the previous year.
• Insider trading activity included the sale of shares by Andrew Reardon and John W. Kozarich, with insiders collectively selling 2,368 shares over the last quarter, reducing their ownership to 7.00%.

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $176.50.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LGND shares. Wall Street Zen raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $167.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $165.41 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.35 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $149.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $93.58 and a twelve month high of $169.49.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $47.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.87 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.44% and a negative return on equity of 9.21%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.000 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.08, for a total transaction of $57,040.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 31,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,639,494.24. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total transaction of $75,775.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 45,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,386,399.72. This trade represents a 1.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,368 shares of company stock worth $311,153 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $85,232,000 after buying an additional 22,629 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the second quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 647,941 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $73,658,000 after acquiring an additional 5,229 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the second quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 571,825 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $65,005,000 after purchasing an additional 17,308 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 488,778 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,571,000 after purchasing an additional 24,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashford Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the second quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc. now owns 302,527 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $34,391,000 after purchasing an additional 4,492 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.

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