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

Key Points

• Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares reached a new 52-week high of $143.79, closing at $142.40 with significant trading volume.
• Analyst ratings are mixed, with Oppenheimer raising the price target to $162.00 while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to a sell rating, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• In the latest earnings report, Ligand beat expectations with $1.33 EPS on revenues of $45.33 million, significantly exceeding analyst estimates.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $143.79 and last traded at $142.40, with a volume of 300233 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $135.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LGND. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $150.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of -20.00 and a beta of 0.85.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $45.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.84 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 7.83% and a negative net margin of 73.07%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,807,000. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total value of $104,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,421,912. This represents a 2.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,401 shares of company stock worth $396,648. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $4,960,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 438,441 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $46,989,000 after acquiring an additional 10,171 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 11,220 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,570 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 87,195 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $9,343,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,598 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

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.

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