Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) has received an average rating of "Buy" from six brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of $147.17.
• Recent insider trading includes Director John W. Kozarich selling 934 shares while CEO Todd C. Davis purchased 9,510 shares at an average price of $105.20.
• Hedge funds have increased their stakes in Ligand Pharmaceuticals, with total institutional ownership now at 91.28%.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $150.00.

Several brokerages have recently commented on LGND. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ LGND traded up $1.14 on Wednesday, reaching $132.72. 155,992 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 184,848. The company has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.64 and a beta of 0.84. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $118.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.78. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $90.29 and a 12 month high of $143.13.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.84 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 7.83% and a negative net margin of 73.07%. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was 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. The trade was a 1.54% 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 link. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza bought 1,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $104.06 per share, for a total transaction of $156,090.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,932 shares in the company, valued at $2,906,603.92. This represents a 5.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,934 shares of company stock valued at $335,060 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWC Advisors LLC. raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 3,518 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 745 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Woodstock Corp increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 29,497 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,353,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 5,184 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corebridge Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 9,384 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $987,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

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.