Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Ligand Pharmaceuticals reached a new 52-week high of $166.99 after Oppenheimer upgraded its price target from $167.00 to $190.00, maintaining an outperform rating.
• Multiple analysts have raised their price targets for Ligand, with HC Wainwright setting it at $206.00 and Royal Bank of Canada at $185.00, indicating strong confidence in the company's performance.
• Despite recent stock sales by insiders, institutional investors own 91.28% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals, reflecting significant confidence from major stakeholders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $167.00 to $190.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Ligand Pharmaceuticals traded as high as $166.99 and last traded at $166.54, with a volume of 190954 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $163.73.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on LGND. Wall Street Zen raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Benchmark increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $176.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.08, for a total value of $57,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,639,494.24. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total value of $75,775.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 45,522 shares in the company, valued at $7,386,399.72. The trade was a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,868 shares of company stock worth $368,423. 7.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 5,446 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $619,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 3,518 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 745 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 29,497 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,353,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 5,184 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.6%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $140.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.55. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.69 and a beta of 0.96.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. 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%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.700-7.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.