Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Up 5% - Still a Buy?

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) shares traded up 5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $120.70 and last traded at $120.90. 36,255 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 117,432 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.12.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $109.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.25. The company has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of -17.09 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 9,510 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $105.20 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,452.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 161,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,961,816.80. This represents a 6.27% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $116,750.00. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,934 shares of company stock worth $335,060. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 10.6% during the second quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,423 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% during the second quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 3,518 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $257,000. Woodstock Corp raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 29,497 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,353,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $789,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

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.