Benchmark Reiterates Buy Rating for Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND)

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by Benchmark in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $95.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 14.73% from the stock’s previous close.

Separately, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ LGND traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $82.80. 5,798 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 148,791. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $49.24 and a 52 week high of $94.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $80.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $3.01. The firm had revenue of $30.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.92 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 79.30% and a return on equity of 8.52%. The business’s revenue was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.04, for a total transaction of $830,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,843,903.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,156 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $446,818.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,026,024.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 10,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.04, for a total value of $830,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,843,903.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,882 in the last 90 days. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 14,344 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 32,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,390,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,627 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. Burney Co. now owns 3,524 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,066 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.