Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. Captisol® is a chemically modified cyclodextrin used to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of small-molecule drug candidates. Ligand’s research services portfolio includes antibody discovery and optimization through its OmniAb™ platform, as well as absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) testing services provided by its Cyprotex and Absorption Systems subsidiaries. Together, these technologies and services support early- and late-stage drug development programs for a broad range of partners worldwide.

Founded in 1987 and headquartered in San Diego, California, Ligand has grown through strategic acquisitions and collaborations, establishing a global footprint that spans North America, Europe and Asia. The company’s leadership team is led by President and Chief Executive Officer John L. Higgins, whose experience in drug development and corporate transactions has guided Ligand’s transformation into a technology-focused partner for the biopharmaceutical industry. Ligand continues to seek new alliances and in-licensing opportunities aimed at expanding its platform capabilities and royalty revenue streams.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $229.43 to $236.32
• 50-Day Range: $189.00 to $241.79
• 52-Week Range: $98.89 to $247.38
• Volume: 185,392 shs
• Average Volume: 220,161 shs
• Market Capitalization: $4.66 billion
• P/E Ratio: 39.89
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Price Target: $256.29
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Ligand Pharmaceuticals scored higher than 82% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 149th out of 857 stocks in the medical sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Ligand Pharmaceuticals has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.88, and is based on no strong buy ratings, 7 buy ratings, 1 hold rating, and no sell ratings.

Upside Potential

Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $256.29, representing about 10.2% upside from its current price of $232.55.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Ligand Pharmaceuticals has been the subject of 6 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 20.59%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Ligand Pharmaceuticals are expected to grow by 20.59% in the coming year, from $6.12 to $7.38 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Ligand Pharmaceuticals is 39.89, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 42.35.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Ligand Pharmaceuticals is 39.89, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Medical sector average P/E ratio of about 24.84.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a PEG Ratio of 1.68. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a P/B Ratio of 4.50. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

7.59% of the float of Ligand Pharmaceuticals has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 5.26.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Ligand Pharmaceuticals has recently decreased by 5.94%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 0.0 / 5
• Dividend Strength: N/A

Dividend Yield

Ligand Pharmaceuticals does not currently pay a dividend.

Dividend Growth

Ligand Pharmaceuticals does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

News and Social Media

• Score: 4.3 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.88

News Sentiment

Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a news sentiment score of 0.88. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.56 average news sentiment score of Medical companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 15 news articles for Ligand Pharmaceuticals this week, compared to 4 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

10 people have searched for LGND on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 67% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

5 people have added Ligand Pharmaceuticals to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 400% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Ligand Pharmaceuticals insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $7,450,977.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

7.00% of the stock of Ligand Pharmaceuticals is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

91.28% of the stock of Ligand Pharmaceuticals is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

LGND Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have LGND shares performed this year?

Ligand Pharmaceuticals' stock was trading at $189.07 at the beginning of 2026. Since then, LGND stock has increased by 23.0% and is now trading at $232.55.

How were Ligand Pharmaceuticals' earnings last quarter?

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February, 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.56. Ligand Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis.
Read the conference call transcript.

Who are Ligand Pharmaceuticals' major shareholders?

Ligand Pharmaceuticals' top institutional investors include Stephens Investment Management Group LLC (2.47%), Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC (0.94%), Bank of New York Mellon Corp (0.60%) and Bessemer Group Inc. (0.54%). Insiders that own company stock include Todd C Davis, Jason Aryeh, Matthew E Korenberg, John W Kozarich, Andrew Reardon, Stephen L Sabba, John L Lamattina, Octavio Espinoza and Nancy Ryan Gray.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals?

Shares of LGND stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Ligand Pharmaceuticals own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Ligand Pharmaceuticals investors own include NVIDIA (NVDA), Invesco QQQ (QQQ), Meta Platforms (META), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Broadcom (AVGO), Netflix (NFLX) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 2/26/2026
• Today: 5/06/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 5/06/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Medical
• Industry: MED - BIOMED/GENE
• Sub-Industry: Biotechnology
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:LGND
• CIK: 886163
• Web: www.ligand.com
• Phone: (858) 550-7500
• Fax: 858-550-1826
• Employees: 80
• Year Founded: 1987

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Ligand Pharmaceuticals: $256.29
• High Price Target: $289.00
• Low Price Target: $220.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +10.2%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.88
• Research Coverage: 8 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $5.83
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 39.89
• Forward P/E Ratio: 38.00
• P/E Growth: 1.68
• Net Income: $124.45 million
• Net Margins: 46.42%
• Pretax Margin: 59.29%
• Return on Equity: 13.86%
• Return on Assets: 10.18%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.44
• Current Ratio: 22.23
• Quick Ratio: 21.98

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $268.09 million
• Price / Sales: 17.38
• Cash Flow: $7.86 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 29.58
• Book Value: $51.68 per share
• Price / Book: 4.50

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 20,040,000
• Free Float: 18,635,000
• Market Cap: $4.66 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.20