Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $245.8571.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price target for the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $270.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.35, for a total value of $1,031,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 36,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,607,918.15. The trade was a 11.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total value of $409,851.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,809,289.50. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,915 shares of company stock valued at $6,385,917. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND stock opened at $199.59 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $197.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.43. The firm has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 21.98 and a current ratio of 22.23. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $93.58 and a 1 year high of $227.92.

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

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.