Oppenheimer Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Oppenheimer from $142.00 to $145.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price target points to a potential upside of 38.78% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on LGND. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.14.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $104.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.63 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $106.59 and a 200 day moving average of $112.45. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $77.43 and a 52 week high of $129.90.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.10. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 29.68%. The firm had revenue of $45.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.84 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $575,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,171,651.37. The trade was a 20.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LGND. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,652,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,085,627 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $223,475,000 after purchasing an additional 115,005 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 95.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 185,402 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $19,866,000 after purchasing an additional 90,743 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% during the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 162,771 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $17,441,000 after purchasing an additional 67,033 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 17,612.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 62,348 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,555,000 after buying an additional 61,996 shares during 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.