Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $257.7143.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $284.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 21.28 and a quick ratio of 20.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $235.75 and a 200 day moving average of $210.65. The firm has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.66, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.17. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $111.71 and a 1 year high of $288.46.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 102,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,645,000. The trade was a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.06, for a total transaction of $1,135,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,396,196.92. The trade was a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 36,165 shares of company stock valued at $8,553,493 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,040.0% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 342 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is 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.