Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives Consensus Rating of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Ligand Pharmaceuticals has received an average consensus rating of "Buy" from six brokerages, with a 12-month price target of $157.00.
• Insider selling activity was noted, with insider Andrew Reardon selling 500 shares for a total of $57,040, indicating a 1.54% decrease in ownership.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $1.60 per share, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $47.63 million, reflecting a 14.7% year-over-year increase.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Buy" from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research 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 $157.00.

LGND has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price 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, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.08, for a total value of $57,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $116,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 46,456 shares in the company, valued at $5,807,000. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,401 shares of company stock worth $292,648 in the last three months. Insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 5,446 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the second 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 Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.1% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 745 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Woodstock Corp increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the second quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 29,497 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,353,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $159.08 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $93.58 and a 1-year high of $161.93. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.77 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $131.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.35.

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

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.