Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Price Target Raised to $239.00 at HC Wainwright

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its target price raised by HC Wainwright from $231.00 to $239.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective 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. Citigroup initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $240.67.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $189.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.30 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 24.69 and a quick ratio of 24.30. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.88. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $93.58 and a 12 month high of $212.49.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.91, for a total transaction of $91,489.97. Following the sale, the director owned 43,187 shares in the company, valued at $8,460,765.17. This trade represents a 1.07% 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, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 26,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,931,085.66. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 3,205 shares of company stock worth $611,192 in the last quarter. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

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.