Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the four ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $131.00.

Several research firms have issued reports on LGND. Craig Hallum raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $97.39 per share, with a total value of $243,475.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 123,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,979,943.90. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $97.39 per share, with a total value of $243,475.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 123,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,979,943.90. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 18,245 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $1,797,132.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 68,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,734,248. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 51,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,255,692 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $99.95 on Thursday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $49.24 and a 1 year high of $112.13. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.04 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.