Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Price Target Raised to $157.00

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its price target upped by HC Wainwright from $144.00 to $157.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on LGND. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.40.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.4 %

LGND opened at $106.89 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.68 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $103.37 and a 200-day moving average of $92.32. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $49.24 and a 52 week high of $112.13.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.04 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 57.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 1,157 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.54, for a total value of $122,109.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 67,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,093,448.94. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 1,157 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.54, for a total value of $122,109.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 67,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,093,448.94. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $97.39 per share, with a total value of $243,475.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,979,943.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 51,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,255,692 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% during the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 8,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $881,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $265,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $276,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 115,480 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,558,000 after purchasing an additional 16,446 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.