Analysts Set Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) PT at $239.33

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $239.3333.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LGND shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $201.15 on Wednesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $93.58 and a 1 year high of $212.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $196.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 24.69 and a quick ratio of 24.30. The company has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.17 and a beta of 0.97.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $1.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 19.34%.The company had revenue of $86.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 123.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.400-7.650 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.31, for a total value of $339,711.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,931,085.66. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.58, for a total transaction of $88,533.86. Following the sale, the director owned 43,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,275,925.32. The trade was a 1.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 3,205 shares of company stock valued at $608,923 in the last three months. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4,933.3% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,191 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 6,068 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,649 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,579,000 after purchasing an additional 2,757 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $251,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company’s product offerings center around several core platforms.