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

Key Points

• Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $282.53 after previously closing at $262.17.
• Analyst sentiment remains largely positive, with seven Buy ratings and one Hold; several firms have also raised price targets, including Citigroup to $282 and HC Wainwright to $289.
• The company recently reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS and revenue estimates, while insiders sold shares and institutional investors continued to hold a large majority of the stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $282.53 and last traded at $279.44, with a volume of 2298188 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $262.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LGND shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $244.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on 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 increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28. The firm has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.17. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $234.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.97.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.88, for a total value of $1,151,790.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,765,982.72. This represents a 14.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 102,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,645,000. The trade was a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 36,165 shares of company stock worth $8,553,493 in the last quarter. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,120 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $344,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,660 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 55,327 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,817,000 after acquiring an additional 4,926 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 176.2% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,922 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,882,000 after acquiring an additional 23,553 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

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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