Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Given Buy Rating at HC Wainwright

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at HC Wainwright in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $157.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price target indicates a potential upside of 44.93% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Craig Hallum raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.83.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of LGND stock traded down $1.48 on Thursday, reaching $108.33. 15,638 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 134,924. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $50.87 and a one year high of $115.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $104.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.30.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. The firm had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 57.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total transaction of $159,585.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,392.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total value of $159,585.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,392.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 18,245 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $1,797,132.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 68,368 shares in the company, valued at $6,734,248. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 51,613 shares of company stock worth $5,255,692 over the last ninety days. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,876,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $134,021,000 after acquiring an additional 24,653 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $809,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 224.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,841 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,620,000 after buying an additional 24,784 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 155.3% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 73,161 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,348,000 after buying an additional 44,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.2% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 202,842 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $17,091,000 after acquiring an additional 13,595 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.