Ligand Pharmaceuticals’ (LGND) Buy Rating Reiterated at HC Wainwright

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by research analysts at HC Wainwright in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $157.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 44.93% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Craig Hallum raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Benchmark upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $132.83.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ LGND traded down $1.48 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $108.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,924. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $50.87 and a 12-month high of $115.53. The firm has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $104.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.30.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.04 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. The business’s revenue was up 57.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Todd C. Davis purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $97.39 per share, for a total transaction of $243,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,979,943.90. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Todd C. Davis bought 2,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $97.39 per share, for a total transaction of $243,475.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 123,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,979,943.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total transaction of $132,523.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 24,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,557,963.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,255,692. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the 4th 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 position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at about $809,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 224.1% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,841 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,620,000 after buying an additional 24,784 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 155.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 73,161 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,348,000 after buying an additional 44,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.2% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.