Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives $132.83 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $132.83.

Several brokerages recently commented on LGND. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $144.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Craig Hallum increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $109.81 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $104.14 and a 200-day moving average of $93.30. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $50.87 and a 1 year high of $115.53. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Todd C. Davis purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.39 per share, with a total value of $243,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 123,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,979,943.90. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total transaction of $159,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,397,392.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.39 per share, with a total value of $243,475.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,010 shares in the company, valued at $11,979,943.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 51,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,255,692. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.