Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Price Target Raised to $332.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $255.00 to $332.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 2.96% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 target price for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $272.29.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of LGND opened at $322.46 on Wednesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $114.00 and a twelve month high of $323.30. The company has a current ratio of 21.28, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.17, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $251.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $218.60.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 102,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,645,000. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total transaction of $1,651,302.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,273,043.98. This represents a 56.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 35,698 shares of company stock worth $9,019,252 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 681 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the first quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 2,872 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.