Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Price Target Raised to $125.00 at Barclays

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its price objective raised by Barclays from $110.00 to $125.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 8.20% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $144.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $132.83.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of LGND opened at $115.53 on Monday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $49.79 and a one year high of $115.53. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $104.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.30. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35 and a beta of 1.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. The business had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $97.39 per share, for a total transaction of $243,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 123,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,979,943.90. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Todd C. Davis purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $97.39 per share, with a total value of $243,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,979,943.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total value of $132,523.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,610 shares in the company, valued at $2,557,963.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 51,613 shares of company stock worth $5,255,692. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,876,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $134,021,000 after acquiring an additional 24,653 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $809,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 224.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,841 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,620,000 after buying an additional 24,784 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 155.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 73,161 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,348,000 after buying an additional 44,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.2% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 202,842 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $17,091,000 after buying an additional 13,595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.