Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Oppenheimer

Investment analysts at Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an "outperform" rating and a $135.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock. Oppenheimer's target price indicates a potential upside of 32.04% from the company's previous close.

LGND has been the topic of several other reports. Benchmark raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Craig Hallum raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $131.80.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of LGND stock traded up $2.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $102.24. 85,458 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 140,001. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $49.24 and a fifty-two week high of $112.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43 and a beta of 1.01. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $102.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.02.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The business had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 57.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 1,157 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.54, for a total transaction of $122,109.78. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 67,211 shares in the company, valued at $7,093,448.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 18,245 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $1,797,132.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 68,368 shares in the company, valued at $6,734,248. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 1,157 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.54, for a total transaction of $122,109.78. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 67,211 shares in the company, valued at $7,093,448.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,613 shares of company stock worth $5,255,692 over the last ninety days. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LGND. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $7,655,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,066 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 7,581 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,435 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $107,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 49,297 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,521,000 after acquiring an additional 16,035 shares during the period. 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.