Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Releases FY24 Earnings Guidance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $5.50-5.70 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $5.39. The company issued revenue guidance of $160-165 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $156.29 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 5.500-5.700 EPS.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 10.8 %

NASDAQ:LGND traded up $12.63 on Thursday, hitting $129.53. 223,057 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 135,675. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $104.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.61. The company has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 58.33 and a beta of 0.99. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $51.21 and a 1 year high of $129.53.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. The business had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LGND. Barclays upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $157.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $132.83.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total value of $159,585.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,392.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total transaction of $159,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,534 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,397,392.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 18,245 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total value of $1,797,132.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 68,368 shares in the company, valued at $6,734,248. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,255,692 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.