Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Price Target Raised to $276.00 at Citigroup

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its price target lifted by Citigroup from $270.00 to $276.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on LGND. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Oppenheimer raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.86.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ LGND opened at $201.66 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 21.98, a current ratio of 22.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $93.58 and a 52 week high of $227.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a fifty day moving average of $197.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $191.55.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.56. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 46.42% and a return on equity of 13.86%. The business had revenue of $59.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. The business’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, analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 3,057 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $687,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,727,250. This represents a 12.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,915 shares of company stock worth $5,165,939. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.