Ligand Pharmaceuticals’ (LGND) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has a $326.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $285.00.

Several other research firms have also commented on LGND. Citigroup started coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $302.57 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $283.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.14. The company has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $132.21 and a 1 year high of $326.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.06, for a total value of $1,135,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,382 shares in the company, valued at $9,396,196.92. The trade was a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total value of $544,830.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,629 shares in the company, valued at $8,541,766. This represents a 6.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 35,231 shares of company stock worth $9,199,401 over the last three months. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LGND. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 681 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 2,872 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

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.