Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $146.43.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LGND shares. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total value of $575,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,879 shares in the company, valued at $2,171,651.37. This represents a 20.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,652,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,085,627 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $223,475,000 after acquiring an additional 115,005 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 95.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 185,402 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $19,866,000 after acquiring an additional 90,743 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% in the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 162,771 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $17,441,000 after acquiring an additional 67,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,612.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 62,348 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,555,000 after purchasing an additional 61,996 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of LGND stock opened at $104.97 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.82 and a beta of 1.07. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $67.72 and a 1 year high of $129.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.25.

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.