Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its price target raised by Barclays from $150.00 to $160.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 5.0 %

NASDAQ LGND opened at $114.41 on Monday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $67.53 and a 1 year high of $129.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.84. The company has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.58 and a beta of 1.01.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 6,275 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.10, for a total transaction of $653,227.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 50,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,285,885.70. This trade represents a 11.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total value of $132,523.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,557,963.40. The trade was a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,728 shares of company stock worth $2,271,575 over the last three months. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 708,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,707,000 after purchasing an additional 44,543 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 707,414 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,805,000 after purchasing an additional 18,642 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 604,038 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $60,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,414 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 545,821 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,631,000 after buying an additional 30,875 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 428,270 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,874,000 after buying an additional 22,495 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.