Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Price Target Raised to $235.00 at Royal Bank Of Canada

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its price objective upped by Royal Bank Of Canada from $234.00 to $235.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on LGND. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $184.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $192.20 and a 200-day moving average of $156.88. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $93.58 and a 12 month high of $212.49. The company has a current ratio of 24.69, a quick ratio of 24.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 88.90 and a beta of 0.99.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $1.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 19.34% and a return on equity of 5.71%. The business had revenue of $86.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.71 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 123.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.400-7.650 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Jason Aryeh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $1,708,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 69,289 shares in the company, valued at $11,835,254.09. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.84, for a total value of $91,457.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 44,121 shares in the company, valued at $8,640,656.64. This trade represents a 1.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,401 shares of company stock worth $1,972,576. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 435.5% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,059 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 3,301 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 36,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,848,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 202,828 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $21,325,000 after purchasing an additional 8,473 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at about $4,657,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 27.1% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 59,878 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,296,000 after acquiring an additional 12,783 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

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.