Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Given New $388.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America raised its price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266 to $388 and kept a Buy rating, implying about 23% upside from the previous close.
• Other analysts have also been turning more positive on LGND, with several recent target-price hikes; overall, the stock now has a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $292.86.
• Ligand reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS and revenue expectations, though revenue still grew 14.1% year over year; meanwhile, insiders have recently sold shares and institutional ownership remains high at 91.28%.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at Bank of America from $266.00 to $388.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. Bank of America's target price points to a potential upside of 23.22% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on LGND. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $292.86.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $314.88 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $252.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $219.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $116.44 and a fifty-two week high of $326.63. The company has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a PE ratio of 42.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.10.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 26,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,765,982.72. This represents a 14.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.28, for a total transaction of $1,566,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,514 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,005,505.92. This represents a 10.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,698 shares of company stock valued at $9,019,252. Insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $75,000. Balefire LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $330,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 681 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $3,840,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14,166.7% in the second quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 428 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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