Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching $311.72 and last trading at $303.53 versus the $266.80 average.
• Analysts remain bullish: all 10 analysts rate the stock a Buy, with a consensus price target of $337.89 and individual targets ranging as high as $388.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $2.37 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.40, while revenue increased 33.8% year over year to $63.69 million. However, insiders have sold nearly 55,000 shares worth about $16.1 million over the past 90 days.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $266.80 and traded as high as $311.72. Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $303.53, with a volume of 196,559 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LGND. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $358.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $337.89.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.14. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $292.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 30.96 and a current ratio of 31.18.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $63.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.30 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 67.88% and a return on equity of 20.06%. The company's revenue was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.07, for a total value of $1,520,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 31,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,685,845.78. This represents a 13.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jason Haas sold 7,138 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.81, for a total value of $2,090,077.78. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,981 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,676.61. The trade was a 64.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 54,979 shares of company stock valued at $16,068,898 over the last 90 days. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $201,623,000 after buying an additional 14,491 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the first quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 283,567 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $56,614,000 after buying an additional 3,940 shares in the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $81,424,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 157,865 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $31,518,000 after buying an additional 37,696 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $41,429,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical company that develops and licenses technologies and drug assets to pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners. Rather than operating primarily as a traditional commercial drug manufacturer, Ligand focuses on building a portfolio of royalty agreements, licensing arrangements and other partnerships that can generate payments when partnered products are developed, approved and sold.

The company's best-known technology is Captisol, a chemically modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain drug compounds.

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