Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its price target on Ligand to $282 (from $276) and kept a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 25% upside
• Ligand posted a strong quarter—EPS $2.02 vs. $1.46 expected and revenue $59.67M (up 39.5% year-over-year)—and set FY2026 guidance of 8.0–9.0 EPS.
• Insiders sold 30,915 shares (~$6.39M) over the last three months, reducing their stakes, while the stock traded at $225.09 mid-day, below several analyst targets.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at Citigroup from $276.00 to $282.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. Citigroup's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 25.28% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on LGND. Bank of America began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $244.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $239.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.29.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND stock traded down $7.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $225.09. The company had a trading volume of 306,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 229,974. The company has a quick ratio of 21.98, a current ratio of 22.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.14. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $98.89 and a one year high of $234.76. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $199.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $195.47.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $59.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.59 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 46.42%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.35, for a total transaction of $1,031,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 36,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,607,918.15. This represents a 11.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 13,423 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.83, for a total value of $2,762,856.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,458,689.46. This represents a 38.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,915 shares of company stock worth $6,385,917. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company's product offerings center around several core platforms.

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