HC Wainwright Reiterates Buy Rating for Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND)

HC Wainwright reissued their buy rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $144.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Separately, Benchmark reissued a buy rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $116.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ LGND opened at $84.26 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $80.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.09. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $49.24 and a 12 month high of $94.57.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $3.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 79.30% and a return on equity of 8.52%. The company had revenue of $30.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.92 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Nancy Ryan Gray sold 934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.20, for a total value of $77,708.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,633 shares in the company, valued at $468,665.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Nancy Ryan Gray sold 934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.20, for a total value of $77,708.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,633 shares in the company, valued at $468,665.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 10,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.04, for a total transaction of $830,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,843,903.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,403 shares of company stock worth $2,150,882 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $107,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $146,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 356.2% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,012 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 1,571 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.