Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Key Points

• FY2026 guidance: Ligand raised its outlook to EPS of 8.50–9.50 and revenue of $270–$310 million, both above analysts' consensus (EPS 8.00, revenue $267.5M).
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating (seven Buys, one Hold) and an average price target of $247.29, alongside recent price-target bumps from firms including Oppenheimer and Citigroup.
• Shares traded at $232.47 (+0.5%) after the update; insiders sold about 30,915 shares in the last quarter (including the CFO's 13,423-share sale), and the company recently reported a quarterly EPS beat of $2.02 vs. $1.46 est., with a market cap around $4.66 billion.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Monday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 8.500-9.500 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 8.000. The company issued revenue guidance of $270.0 million-$310.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $267.5 million.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $244.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted 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 lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $239.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.29.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ LGND traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $232.47. 127,156 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 222,459. The company has a 50 day moving average of $206.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $198.18. The company has a quick ratio of 21.98, a current ratio of 22.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $98.89 and a 52-week high of $247.38. The firm has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.87, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.14.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.56. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 46.42%.The firm had revenue of $59.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. The business's revenue was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 13,423 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.83, for a total transaction of $2,762,856.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,458,689.46. The trade was a 38.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,607,918.15. This represents a 11.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,915 shares of company stock valued at $6,385,917. Insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LGND. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,120 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $344,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,660 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 55,327 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $5,817,000 after buying an additional 4,926 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 176.2% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,922 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,882,000 after purchasing an additional 23,553 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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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