Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Now Covered by Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals with a buy rating and a $387 price target, implying about 29.5% upside from the prior close.
• Recent analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with seven Buy ratings and only one Hold; the consensus price target is $319, and several firms have recently raised their targets.
• Ligand shares were up 1.6% to $298.77 in Tuesday trading, while the company recently reported Q1 earnings and revenue below expectations despite year-over-year revenue growth.

Investment analysts at Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Tuesday. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $387.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock. Citigroup's price target would indicate a potential upside of 29.53% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $319.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of LGND traded up $4.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $298.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 277,460. 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's 50-day moving average is $265.19 and its 200-day moving average is $225.53. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $129.55 and a 52-week high of $326.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 4.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was 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 owned 4,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,273,043.98. This trade represents a 56.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,765,982.72. The trade was a 14.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 35,698 shares of company stock worth $9,019,252 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 22.5% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 10,358 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,274,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $75,000. Balefire LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $330,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 681 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,840,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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