Analysts Set Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) PT at $176.50

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%.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Buy" from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $176.50.

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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:LGND traded down $3.32 on Thursday, reaching $166.51. The stock had a trading volume of 586,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 217,201. The company has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.63 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's fifty day moving average is $150.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.98. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $93.58 and a 12-month high of $170.78.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. The company 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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 in the company, valued at $3,639,494.24. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $116,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 46,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,807,000. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,368 shares of company stock valued at $311,153. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LGND. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $16,526,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 57.8% in the second quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 300,025 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $34,107,000 after acquiring an additional 109,935 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,612.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 62,348 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,555,000 after acquiring an additional 61,996 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 190.2% in the first quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 68,299 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,181,000 after acquiring an additional 44,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $4,657,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.