Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Buy" by the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $147.00.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total value of $244,842.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,402,691.39. The trade was a 9.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 119.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 406 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 825.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 546 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $115.41. 99,779 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 124,985. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.98 and a beta of 1.04. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $67.72 and a fifty-two week high of $129.90. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $114.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.45.

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.