Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives $336.57 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $336.5714.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LGND. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $289.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $326.00 price target (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $288.75 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $288.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.93. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $149.00 and a 52 week high of $326.63. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 34.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.88, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.40. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 67.88% and a return on equity of 20.06%. The firm had revenue of $63.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.99, for a total transaction of $1,444,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,997,130.86. This represents a 10.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 102,580 shares in the company, valued at $25,645,000. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,197 shares of company stock valued at $8,744,572. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LGND. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 681 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the first quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 2,872 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.