Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Given New $110.00 Price Target at Benchmark

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its price target boosted by Benchmark from $95.00 to $110.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on LGND. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Craig Hallum raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $131.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.9 %

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $101.02 on Monday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $49.24 and a 52-week high of $112.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $91.99 and a 200-day moving average of $82.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 79.30% and a return on equity of 8.52%. The company had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 57.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $97.39 per share, with a total value of $243,475.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,010 shares in the company, valued at $11,979,943.90. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total transaction of $446,818.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,026,024.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were bought 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 owns 123,010 shares in the company, valued at $11,979,943.90. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $67,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.