Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $239.3333.

A number of analysts have weighed in on LGND shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.31, for a total value of $339,711.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 26,186 shares in the company, valued at $4,931,085.66. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.84, for a total value of $91,457.28. Following the sale, the director owned 44,121 shares in the company, valued at $8,640,656.64. This trade represents a 1.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,738 shares of company stock valued at $520,389. 7.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,014 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 575 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 5,446 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $619,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $190.11 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $93.58 and a fifty-two week high of $212.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $195.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.79. The company has a quick ratio of 24.30, a current ratio of 24.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.84 and a beta of 0.97.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $1.13. The company had revenue of $86.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.71 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 19.34% and a return on equity of 5.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 123.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.400-7.650 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.