Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Research Coverage Started at Oppenheimer

Equities researchers at Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s target price points to a potential upside of 28.84% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Craig Hallum upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.80.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $104.78 on Thursday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $49.24 and a twelve month high of $112.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.34. The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27 and a beta of 1.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced 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 return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. The company had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 57.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Todd C. Davis purchased 2,500 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 123,010 shares in the company, valued at $11,979,943.90. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total transaction of $989,121.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,139,647.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,979,943.90. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,255,692. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chicago Capital LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 124.3% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 514,946 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,389,000 after purchasing an additional 285,350 shares during the last quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $14,367,000. F M Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,350,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,655,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 129.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 85,195 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,228,000 after purchasing an additional 48,022 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

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.