Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $247.38 and last traded at $238.2860, with a volume of 48565 shares. The stock had previously closed at $231.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LGND shares. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $239.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $235.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 21.98 and a current ratio of 22.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $198.99. The company has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 39.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.14.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $59.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.59 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 46.42%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.24, for a total transaction of $1,006,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,327,713.68. This trade represents a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 3,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 12.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,915 shares of company stock worth $6,385,917. 7.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 210 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.