What is HC Wainwright's Estimate for LGND Q3 Earnings?

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) - Analysts at HC Wainwright issued their Q3 2026 EPS estimates for Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report issued on Tuesday, May 5th. HC Wainwright analyst J. Pantginis anticipates that the biotechnology company will post earnings of $1.67 per share for the quarter. HC Wainwright has a "Buy" rating and a $289.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Ligand Pharmaceuticals' current full-year earnings is $6.12 per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Ligand Pharmaceuticals' Q4 2026 earnings at $1.75 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $6.08 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $8.52 EPS.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 46.42% and a return on equity of 13.86%.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $244.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $235.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $256.29.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of LGND stock opened at $232.55 on Thursday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $211.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $200.35. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of 39.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.20. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $98.89 and a 12 month high of $247.38.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 13,423 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,458,689.46. This represents a 38.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,034 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $409,851.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,793 shares in the company, valued at $6,809,289.50. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 35,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,450,977 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Future Fund LLC increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 49.1% during the first quarter. Future Fund LLC now owns 13,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,763,000 after acquiring an additional 4,560 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.1% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,570 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 358.8% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 107,859 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $21,535,000 after acquiring an additional 84,349 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3,750.0% during the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,540 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by 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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