Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $262.79 and traded as high as $309.77. Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $306.77, with a volume of 163,814 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $358.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, September 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $397.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $337.89.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $291.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $263.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 31.18 and a quick ratio of 30.96.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $63.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.30 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 20.06% and a net margin of 67.88%.Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Martine Zimmermann sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.00, for a total transaction of $342,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,645. The trade was a 23.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.07, for a total transaction of $1,520,350.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 31,854 shares in the company, valued at $9,685,845.78. The trade was a 13.57% 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 have sold 54,979 shares of company stock worth $16,068,898 over the last three months. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LGND. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $93,809,000 after purchasing an additional 266,304 shares in the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $81,424,000. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $24,813,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,429,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 265.4% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 117,432 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $22,204,000 after buying an additional 85,297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical company that develops and licenses technologies and drug assets to pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners. Rather than operating primarily as a traditional commercial drug manufacturer, Ligand focuses on building a portfolio of royalty agreements, licensing arrangements and other partnerships that can generate payments when partnered products are developed, approved and sold.

The company’s best-known technology is Captisol, a chemically modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain drug compounds.