Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $231.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $201.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.63 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $194.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.15. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $93.58 and a one year high of $212.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 22.23 and a quick ratio of 21.98.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $59.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.59 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 46.42% and a return on equity of 13.86%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 13,423 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.83, for a total value of $2,762,856.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,458,689.46. This represents a 38.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.50, for a total transaction of $93,633.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 42,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,565,360. This trade represents a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 23,662 shares of company stock worth $4,817,826 in the last 90 days. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $284,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 516,464 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $97,648,000 after buying an additional 138,169 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 339.3% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,388 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,342,000 after acquiring an additional 9,568 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 2,417 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,459,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.