HC Wainwright Reaffirms Buy Rating for Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND)

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $144.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 96.67% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ LGND opened at $73.22 on Wednesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $49.24 and a fifty-two week high of $94.57. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $74.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.05.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $3.01. The firm had revenue of $30.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.92 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 37.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,893 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.30, for a total value of $140,649.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 28,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,149,201.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 95.1% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 441 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $107,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&R Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $146,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

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.