Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Trading 5.1% Higher – Time to Buy?

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)’s share price was up 5.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $191.10 and last traded at $192.5450. Approximately 2,631 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 98% from the average daily volume of 165,599 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on LGND shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Benchmark raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.47. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.59 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 24.30, a current ratio of 24.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Jason Aryeh sold 10,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $1,708,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 69,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,835,254.09. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,640,656.64. The trade was a 1.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,401 shares of company stock valued at $1,972,576. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 36,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,848,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 202,828 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $21,325,000 after purchasing an additional 8,473 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,657,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 41.6% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 135,365 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,232,000 after purchasing an additional 39,765 shares during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 216,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $22,736,000 after purchasing an additional 39,481 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.