Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $282.53 and last traded at $279.44, with a volume of 2298188 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $262.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LGND. Wall Street Zen lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a PE ratio of 40.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $237.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.44.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 55.95% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 4,591 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.88, for a total value of $1,151,790.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,969 shares in the company, valued at $6,765,982.72. The trade was a 14.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total value of $544,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,541,766. The trade was a 6.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 36,165 shares of company stock worth $8,553,493 over the last 90 days. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $2,789,955,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $201,623,000 after acquiring an additional 14,491 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,232,000 after acquiring an additional 22,629 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 516,464 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $97,648,000 after acquiring an additional 138,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $93,809,000 after purchasing an additional 266,304 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.