Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Hits New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Ligand Pharmaceuticals reached a new 52-week high of $170.45, showcasing significant market interest with 128,020 shares traded.
• Several analysts have upgraded the stock, raising price targets significantly, with Royal Bank of Canada now at $185.00 and Oppenheimer at $190.00, indicating a strong buy consensus.
• The company reported a 14.7% year-over-year revenue increase, with $47.63 million during the last quarter, exceeding estimates and boosting investor confidence.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $169.96 and last traded at $170.45, with a volume of 128020 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $165.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.98.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $47.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $116,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 46,456 shares in the company, valued at $5,807,000. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,868 shares of company stock worth $254,113. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $85,232,000 after purchasing an additional 22,629 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 647,941 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $73,658,000 after purchasing an additional 5,229 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 571,825 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $65,005,000 after purchasing an additional 17,308 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 488,778 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $55,571,000 after purchasing an additional 24,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashford Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc. now owns 302,527 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $34,391,000 after purchasing an additional 4,492 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.