Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Price Target Raised to $160.00

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its price objective boosted by Barclays from $150.00 to $160.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 32.86% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $120.43 on Monday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $67.36 and a one year high of $129.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $114.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 47.98 and a beta of 1.01.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total value of $989,121.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 50,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,139,647.94. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total transaction of $297,501.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 29,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,649,529.75. This represents a 7.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,728 shares of company stock worth $2,271,575. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Woodstock Corp increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 29,211 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,924,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,896 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased 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 worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,708 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. 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.