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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its price objective upped by Barclays from $150.00 to $160.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $114.41 on Monday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $67.53 and a 12 month high of $129.90. The company has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.58 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total value of $199,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,244,386.40. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total value of $132,523.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,557,963.40. The trade was a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,728 shares of company stock worth $2,271,575. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Woodstock Corp raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the third quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 29,211 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,924,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,896 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,708 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 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.