HC Wainwright Boosts Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Price Target to $157.00

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by analysts at HC Wainwright from $144.00 to $157.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. HC Wainwright's price target indicates a potential upside of 47.03% from the company's previous close.

LGND has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Benchmark upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Finally, Craig Hallum upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $134.40.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ LGND traded up $0.39 during trading on Monday, reaching $106.78. 120,604 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 136,308. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $49.24 and a fifty-two week high of $112.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $103.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.81.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total transaction of $989,121.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 50,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,139,647.94. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total transaction of $159,585.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,392.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,613 shares of company stock valued at $5,255,692 over the last 90 days. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $276,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 115,480 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $11,558,000 after acquiring an additional 16,446 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $228,000. Chicago Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% in the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 545,821 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $54,631,000 after acquiring an additional 30,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,896 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.