Wall Street Zen Upgrades Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) to Buy

Key Points

• Ligand Pharmaceuticals has received a rating upgrade from Wall Street Zen, moving from "hold" to "buy," signalling increased confidence from analysts.
• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target for Ligand's shares from $155 to $185, while Oppenheimer increased it from $145 to $162, further indicating strong bullish sentiment.
• The company posted a 14.7% year-over-year revenue increase, reporting earnings per share of $1.60, surpassing analyst expectations.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on LGND. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $157.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LGND traded down $3.05 on Friday, hitting $147.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,082,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,977. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.75 and a beta of 0.85. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $93.58 and a 1 year high of $151.55. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $122.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.76.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.44% and a negative return on equity of 9.21%. The firm had revenue of $47.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.87 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The company's revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 934 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $116,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 46,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,807,000. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. 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 firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total transaction of $104,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 32,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,421,912. This trade represents a 2.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,401 shares of company stock valued at $396,648. Insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Simplex Trading LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 825.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 546 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. 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.