Brokerages Set Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Price Target at $257.71

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $257.7143.

LGND has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.87, for a total value of $207,870.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,793 shares in the company, valued at $6,816,680.91. This trade represents a 2.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 13,423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.83, for a total value of $2,762,856.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,458,689.46. This trade represents a 38.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 35,448 shares of company stock worth $7,510,572 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,926 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $19,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,860 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,915 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,653,000 after acquiring an additional 4,538 shares during the last quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 178.0% during the third quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 29,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,257,000 after acquiring an additional 19,002 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 143,067 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,050,000 after acquiring an additional 31,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 11.7% during the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 59,131 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,474,000 after acquiring an additional 6,209 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND opened at $229.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $218.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.26. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $100.67 and a 12-month high of $247.38. The company has a current ratio of 21.28, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.18, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.