Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

LGND has been the subject of several other research reports. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $231.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $201.90 on Friday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $194.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a PE ratio of 34.63 and a beta of 1.17. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $93.58 and a one year high of $212.49.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,034 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.50, for a total transaction of $409,851.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,809,289.50. This represents a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 13,423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.83, for a total value of $2,762,856.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,458,689.46. The trade was a 38.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,662 shares of company stock valued at $4,817,826. 7.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LGND. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,915 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,653,000 after purchasing an additional 4,538 shares during the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,585,000. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 667,311 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $118,207,000 after buying an additional 19,370 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% in 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 during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 108,424 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $19,416,000 after buying an additional 32,379 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is 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.