What is Zacks Small Cap’s Forecast for LGND FY2026 Earnings?

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) – Research analysts at Zacks Small Cap lifted their FY2026 earnings estimates for shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report issued on Monday, December 16th. Zacks Small Cap analyst J. Vandermosten now anticipates that the biotechnology company will post earnings of $5.00 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $4.60. The consensus estimate for Ligand Pharmaceuticals’ current full-year earnings is $1.73 per share.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on LGND. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of LGND stock opened at $114.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.58 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $67.53 and a one year high of $129.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total value of $297,501.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 29,515 shares in the company, valued at $3,649,529.75. This trade represents a 7.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total transaction of $132,523.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,557,963.40. The trade was a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,728 shares of company stock worth $2,271,575 in the last three months. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,574 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,963,000 after buying an additional 6,555 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 163,924 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,407,000 after acquiring an additional 8,584 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 115,480 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,558,000 after acquiring an additional 16,446 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.2% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 202,842 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $17,091,000 after purchasing an additional 13,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $608,000. Institutional investors 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.