Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock Price

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on Ligand from $235 to $252 and kept an outperform rating, implying roughly a 5.8% upside from the prior close.
• Ligand topped expectations with quarterly EPS of $2.02 and revenue of $59.7M, issued FY2026 guidance of 8.0–9.0 EPS, and carries a consensus analyst price target near $249.71.
• Insiders have sold 30,915 shares (about $6.39M) in the past three months, though insiders still own roughly 7% of the stock and institutional investors hold about 91.3%.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $235.00 to $252.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective points to a potential upside of 5.81% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $239.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $244.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $249.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of LGND stock traded down $3.63 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $238.16. The company had a trading volume of 17,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 221,764. The company has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.04, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.14. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $98.89 and a 12-month high of $247.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 21.98 and a current ratio of 22.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $207.34 and a 200-day moving average of $198.60.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $59.67 million during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,034 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $409,851.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,809,289.50. This trade represents a 5.68% 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 stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.35, for a total value of $1,031,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 36,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,607,918.15. The trade was a 11.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 30,915 shares of company stock valued at $6,385,917 over the last three months. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $3,854,000. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 26.9% in the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,874 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $181,000. 1492 Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the first quarter. 1492 Capital Management LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $1,737,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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