Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND) Expected to Announce Earnings on Thursday

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) is expected to be releasing its earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, February 27th. Analysts expect Ligand Pharmaceuticals to post earnings of $1.37 per share and revenue of $39.03 million for the quarter. Persons that wish to listen to the company's earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.2 %

LGND stock traded down $1.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $120.56. 136,713 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 87,456. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.47. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $67.72 and a 1-year high of $129.90. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.03 and a beta of 1.04.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $147.00.

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Insider Activity

In related 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,647 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total value of $297,501.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 29,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,649,529.75. This represents a 7.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.90% 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.