Brokerages Set Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Target Price at $239.33

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $239.3333.

LGND has been the subject of a number of research reports. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Benchmark raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.91, for a total value of $91,489.97. Following the transaction, the director owned 43,187 shares in the company, valued at $8,460,765.17. The trade was a 1.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.31, for a total transaction of $339,711.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,931,085.66. The trade was a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,205 shares of company stock worth $611,192. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,789,955,000. Acuitas Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,922.9% during the third quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 402,494 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $71,298,000 after buying an additional 382,597 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $93,809,000 after buying an additional 266,304 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 676.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 254,805 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,136,000 after buying an additional 221,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 541,845 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $95,982,000 after acquiring an additional 202,103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND opened at $187.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 24.30, a current ratio of 24.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $93.58 and a 52-week high of $212.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $193.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.31. The company has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.58 and a beta of 1.14.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.