Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives $146.43 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $146.43.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LGND. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of LGND stock opened at $108.07 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 43.06 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $108.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.39. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $69.51 and a 52 week high of $129.90.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $575,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,171,651.37. This represents a 20.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 2,862 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,297 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 125 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 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.