Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND) Expected to Announce Earnings on Thursday

Key Points

• Ligand Pharmaceuticals is expected to report Q2 2026 earnings before the market opens on August 6. Analysts forecast earnings of $1.84 per share on revenue of approximately $61.4 million.
• The company’s previous quarter fell short of expectations, with earnings of $1.63 per share versus the $1.84 consensus and revenue of $51.72 million versus $59.10 million expected. Revenue nevertheless increased 14.1% year over year.
• LGND shares have risen significantly, trading at $288.01 with a 12-month range of $129.55 to $326.63. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $319, while insiders have sold roughly $9.0 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) is anticipated to post its Q2 2026 results before the market opens on Thursday, August 6th. Analysts expect Ligand Pharmaceuticals to announce earnings of $1.84 per share and revenue of $61.4050 million for the quarter. Parties are encouraged to explore the company's upcoming Q2 2026 earning report page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Thursday, August 6, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Ligand Pharmaceuticals to post $5 EPS for the current fiscal year and $9 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $288.01 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 21.28, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $276.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.73. The stock has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.10. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $129.55 and a 12-month high of $326.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total value of $1,651,302.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,273,043.98. The trade was a 56.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.88, for a total transaction of $1,151,790.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,765,982.72. This represents a 14.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,698 shares of company stock worth $9,019,252. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 2,872 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 8,474 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,602,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,426 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,593,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LGND has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $319.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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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