Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after HC Wainwright raised their price target on the stock from $239.00 to $243.00. HC Wainwright currently has a buy rating on the stock. Ligand Pharmaceuticals traded as high as $230.98 and last traded at $231.2730, with a volume of 150160 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $213.44.

Several other brokerages have also commented on LGND. Wall Street Zen lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $270.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,034 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 36,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,607,918.15. This represents a 11.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 30,915 shares of company stock worth $6,385,917 in the last 90 days. 7.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,014 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 2,872 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 575 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $199.79 and a 200 day moving average of $195.47. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 22.23, a quick ratio of 21.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 EPS 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 period last year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 EPS for the current 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.