Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $212.49 and last traded at $208.70, with a volume of 225493 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $209.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on LGND shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $185.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $181.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.39. The company has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.78 and a beta of 0.91.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $1.13. The company had revenue of $86.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.71 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.44% and a negative return on equity of 9.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 123.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.400-7.650 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.05, for a total transaction of $89,220.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 44,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,518,537.40. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $1,708,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 69,289 shares in the company, valued at $11,835,254.09. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,401 shares of company stock worth $1,956,894. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,232,000 after buying an additional 22,629 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 667,311 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $118,207,000 after purchasing an additional 19,370 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 571,825 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $65,005,000 after purchasing an additional 17,308 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 541,845 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $95,982,000 after purchasing an additional 202,103 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 488,778 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,571,000 after buying an additional 24,326 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently 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.