Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Given New $243.00 Price Target at HC Wainwright

Key Points

• HC Wainwright raised its price target on Ligand to $243 (from $239) and kept a "buy" rating, consistent with a consensus "Moderate Buy" and an average analyst target of $246.43.
• The stock jumped about 8.2% to $230.97 after the company beat estimates with Q-quarterly EPS of $2.02 (vs. $1.46 expected) and revenue of $59.67M, and set FY2026 guidance of $8.00–$9.00 EPS.
• Insiders have sold shares recently (including the CFO and a director), with insiders owning 7.0% of the stock while institutional investors hold roughly 91.3% of shares outstanding.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at HC Wainwright from $239.00 to $243.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. HC Wainwright's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.21% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $244.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $270.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $246.43.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 8.2%

LGND stock traded up $17.53 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $230.97. 201,757 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 224,201. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 39.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.14. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $98.89 and a 1 year high of $234.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $199.12 and a 200-day moving average of $195.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 21.98 and a current ratio of 22.23.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $59.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.59 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 46.42%.Ligand Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. Analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.23, for a total value of $94,441.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 42,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,544,824.19. This represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 13,423 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.83, for a total value of $2,762,856.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,458,689.46. This represents a 38.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 30,915 shares of company stock worth $6,385,917 over the last 90 days. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,561 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 516,464 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $97,648,000 after buying an additional 138,169 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 2,417 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $1,459,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

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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