Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives $245.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $245.00.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LGND. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $202.91 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $196.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $189.24. The company has a quick ratio of 21.98, a current ratio of 22.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $93.58 and a 12-month high of $227.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.56. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 46.42% and a return on equity of 13.86%. The business had revenue of $59.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 3,057 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $687,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,727,250. The trade was a 12.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.35, for a total transaction of $1,031,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 36,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,607,918.15. This trade represents a 11.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,915 shares of company stock valued at $5,165,939. 7.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,789,955,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,232,000 after purchasing an additional 22,629 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 667,311 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $118,207,000 after purchasing an additional 19,370 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 541,845 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $95,982,000 after buying an additional 202,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 516,464 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $97,648,000 after buying an additional 138,169 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company’s product offerings center around several core platforms.