Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives "Buy" Rating from HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $157.00 target price on the biotechnology company's stock.

LGND has been the subject of several other research reports. Benchmark lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Craig Hallum boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $132.83.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:LGND traded down $4.11 on Thursday, reaching $105.70. The stock had a trading volume of 100,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 135,360. The company has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.94 and a beta of 1.00. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $50.87 and a 12-month high of $115.53. The firm's fifty day moving average is $104.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.42.

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

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 22,534 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,397,392.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 approximately $2,397,392.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $97.39 per share, for a total transaction of $243,475.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,010 shares in the company, valued at $11,979,943.90. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 51,613 shares of company stock worth $5,255,692. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Woodstock Corp boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 29,211 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,924,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,896 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,708 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.