Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Ligand Pharmaceuticals reached a new 52-week high of $187.81, closing at $185.89 with significant trading volume.
• Several brokerages have increased their target prices for Ligand, with HC Wainwright setting a target of $206.00 and Oppenheimer raising theirs to $190.00, while the consensus rating remains a "Moderate Buy."
• The company reported $1.60 EPS for its last quarter, exceeding estimates, and is projecting FY 2025 EPS guidance of 6.700-7.000.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $187.81 and last traded at $185.89, with a volume of 15274 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $186.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LGND. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $167.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $176.50.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $169.13 and a 200 day moving average of $133.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.54 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Jason Aryeh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $1,708,100.00. Following the sale, the director owned 69,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,835,254.09. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.44, for a total value of $83,798.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 45,055 shares in the company, valued at $8,084,669.20. This represents a 1.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,401 shares of company stock worth $1,929,262 in the last ninety days. 7.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Simplex Trading LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $61,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 68.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 593 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.1% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 745 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

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.

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