Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Price Target Raised to $147.00

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at Oppenheimer from $135.00 to $147.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 22.24% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $157.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.83.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 7.4 %

LGND traded down $9.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $120.26. 68,576 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 135,590. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $105.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.85. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $51.21 and a 1-year high of $129.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.43 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at $5,139,647.94. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total value of $132,523.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 24,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,557,963.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total value of $989,121.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at $5,139,647.94. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,368 shares of company stock worth $3,458,560. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Chicago Capital LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 124.3% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 514,946 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,389,000 after purchasing an additional 285,350 shares in the last quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $14,367,000. F M Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $11,350,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 708,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,707,000 after purchasing an additional 44,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 155.3% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 73,161 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,348,000 after purchasing an additional 44,499 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.