Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives $335.75 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $335.75.

A number of research firms recently commented on LGND. Bank of America increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $326.00 price objective (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 3rd.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 31,641 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.06, for a total transaction of $9,241,070.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,088,893.76. This represents a 53.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jason Haas sold 7,138 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.81, for a total transaction of $2,090,077.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,165,676.61. The trade was a 64.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,385 shares of company stock valued at $17,969,081. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,050.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 343 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $288.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 31.18 and a quick ratio of 30.96. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $296.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $251.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.11. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $161.82 and a 1 year high of $326.63.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.40. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 20.06% and a net margin of 67.88%.The firm had revenue of $63.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 5.29 EPS 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.