Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Reaches New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) shares reached a new 52-week high of $172.76 amidst increased trading activity, reflecting strong investor interest.
• Several analysts have upgraded Ligand, with target prices now ranging from $175 to $206, showing a consensus rating of "Buy" among six research firms.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.60 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and marking a 14.7% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $172.76 and last traded at $171.99, with a volume of 37011 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $169.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Benchmark boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $167.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $176.50.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of -43.14 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $154.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.10.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total transaction of $75,775.42. Following the sale, the director directly owned 45,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,386,399.72. The trade was a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,835,254.09. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,868 shares of company stock worth $1,962,213. 7.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $16,526,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 57.8% during the second quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 300,025 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $34,107,000 after acquiring an additional 109,935 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,612.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 62,348 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,555,000 after acquiring an additional 61,996 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 190.2% during the first quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 68,299 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,181,000 after acquiring an additional 44,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $4,657,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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