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

Key Points

• Wall Street sentiment is bullish: Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from eight covering firms, with seven buy ratings and one hold. The average 1-year price target is about $257.71.
• Recent earnings missed expectations: The company reported $1.63 EPS versus the $1.84 consensus estimate, and revenue of $51.72 million fell short of forecasts. Even so, quarterly revenue rose 14.1% from a year earlier.
• Insiders have been selling shares: The CFO and a director recently sold stock, and insider sales totaled 37,949 shares worth about $8.0 million over the last 90 days. Institutional investors still hold the vast majority of the stock at 91.28%.

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $257.7143.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LGND. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $244.00 target price on the stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $229.33 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $215.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.20. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $98.89 and a fifty-two week high of $247.38.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 13,423 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.83, for a total value of $2,762,856.09. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,662 shares in the company, valued at $4,458,689.46. This trade represents a 38.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,034 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $409,851.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,809,289.50. This trade represents a 5.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 37,949 shares of company stock worth $8,014,056 in the last 90 days. 7.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $2,789,955,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 14,491 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $85,232,000 after acquiring an additional 22,629 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 516,464 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $97,648,000 after acquiring an additional 138,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $93,809,000 after acquiring an additional 266,304 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company's product offerings center around several core platforms.

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