Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives $127.25 Consensus PT from Analysts

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the four research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $127.25.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LGND shares. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, June 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $97.39 per share, with a total value of $243,475.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,979,943.90. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Todd C. Davis purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $97.39 per share, for a total transaction of $243,475.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 123,010 shares in the company, valued at $11,979,943.90. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total transaction of $446,818.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,026,024.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,469 shares of company stock worth $1,242,773 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,876,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $134,021,000 after buying an additional 24,653 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $809,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 224.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,841 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 24,784 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 205,208 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,656,000 after buying an additional 20,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 98.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 37,173 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,655,000 after buying an additional 18,472 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $3.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $100.16. The company had a trading volume of 132,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 149,009. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $90.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.54. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $49.24 and a 1 year high of $112.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 8.52% and a net margin of 79.30%. The company had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.04 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.