HC Wainwright Brokers Increase Earnings Estimates for LGND

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) – Stock analysts at HC Wainwright lifted their Q3 2026 earnings per share estimates for Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, April 30th. HC Wainwright analyst J. Pantginis now expects that the biotechnology company will earn $1.67 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.50. HC Wainwright currently has a “Buy” rating and a $289.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Ligand Pharmaceuticals’ current full-year earnings is $5.60 per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Ligand Pharmaceuticals’ Q4 2026 earnings at $1.75 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $6.08 EPS.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on LGND. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $235.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.29.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of LGND opened at $229.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.36, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $209.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $199.38. The company has a quick ratio of 21.98, a current ratio of 22.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $98.89 and a 52 week high of $247.38.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.56. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 46.42%.The firm had revenue of $59.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 3,057 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $687,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,727,250. This trade represents a 12.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.24, for a total value of $1,006,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,327,713.68. This represents a 10.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 30,915 shares of company stock worth $6,385,917 in the last three months. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $690,000. Abel Hall LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $222,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $3,854,000. Finally, Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 26.9% during the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,874 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.