Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Price Target Raised to $234.00

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $185.00 to $234.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price objective points to a potential upside of 15.49% from the stock’s previous close.

LGND has been the topic of several other reports. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ LGND traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $202.62. 26,152 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 158,015. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.14. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $93.58 and a 1 year high of $211.91. The company has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.55 and a beta of 0.91.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $1.13. The firm had revenue of $86.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.71 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 9.21% and a negative net margin of 40.44%.The company’s revenue was up 123.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.400-7.650 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.05, for a total transaction of $89,220.35. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 44,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,518,537.40. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $1,708,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 69,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,835,254.09. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,401 shares of company stock worth $1,956,894. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 102,874 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,816,000 after purchasing an additional 3,284 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 40,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,254,000 after buying an additional 3,219 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 745 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $265,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.