HC Wainwright Has Positive Outlook of LGND FY2025 Earnings

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND - Free Report) - Research analysts at HC Wainwright boosted their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report issued on Wednesday, December 11th. HC Wainwright analyst J. Pantginis now anticipates that the biotechnology company will earn $3.46 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $3.23. HC Wainwright currently has a "Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Ligand Pharmaceuticals' current full-year earnings is $1.73 per share.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on LGND. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $145.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of LGND traded up $2.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $115.72. 54,770 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 134,668. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $65.84 and a fifty-two week high of $129.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.22 and a beta of 1.01. The business's 50 day moving average is $113.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $339,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $229,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 8,500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $716,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 10,847 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $914,000 after buying an additional 1,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 99,034 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $8,345,000 after buying an additional 13,839 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 6,275 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.10, for a total transaction of $653,227.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 50,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,285,885.70. This trade represents a 11.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total value of $132,523.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,557,963.40. This trade represents a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,728 shares of company stock valued at $2,271,575 over the last ninety days. 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.