Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after HC Wainwright raised their price target on the stock from $239.00 to $243.00. HC Wainwright currently has a buy rating on the stock. Ligand Pharmaceuticals traded as high as $230.98 and last traded at $231.2730, with a volume of 150160 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $213.44.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $270.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $246.43.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 13,423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.83, for a total value of $2,762,856.09. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,458,689.46. This trade represents a 38.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.23, for a total transaction of $94,441.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 42,253 shares in the company, valued at $8,544,824.19. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,915 shares of company stock valued at $6,385,917. 7.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,014 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 2,872 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 575 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 8.6%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $199.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.03. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 22.23 and a quick ratio of 21.98.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $59.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.59 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 46.42% and a return on equity of 13.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company’s product offerings center around several core platforms.