Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND – Get Free Report)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $266.80 and traded as high as $311.72. Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $303.53, with a volume of 196,559 shares traded.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, September 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $358.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $337.89.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on LGND
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance
The company has a current ratio of 31.18, a quick ratio of 30.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $292.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.45.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $63.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.30 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 67.88% and a return on equity of 20.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, Director Jason Haas sold 7,138 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.81, for a total value of $2,090,077.78. Following the sale, the director owned 3,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,676.61. This trade represents a 64.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Martine Zimmermann sold 1,200 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.00, for a total transaction of $342,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,897 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,645. This represents a 23.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,979 shares of company stock valued at $16,068,898. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $770,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% during the third quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,148 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. GK Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $122,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 813 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 603 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Ligand Pharmaceuticals
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical company that develops and licenses technologies and drug assets to pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners. Rather than operating primarily as a traditional commercial drug manufacturer, Ligand focuses on building a portfolio of royalty agreements, licensing arrangements and other partnerships that can generate payments when partnered products are developed, approved and sold.
The company’s best-known technology is Captisol, a chemically modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain drug compounds.
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