Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock Price Target Raised at Royal Bank Of Canada

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its target price boosted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $345.00 to $357.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on LGND. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Leerink Partners began coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 price target on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, September 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $345.00 price target for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $397.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $339.22.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $322.75 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $296.39 and its 200-day moving average is $252.30. The company has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 13.35 and a quick ratio of 30.96. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $175.89 and a 12 month high of $326.63.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 5.22% and a net margin of 20.27%. The business had revenue of $78.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 31.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 31,641 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.06, for a total transaction of $9,241,070.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,696 shares in the company, valued at $8,088,893.76. The trade was a 53.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Martine Zimmermann sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.00, for a total value of $342,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,645. The trade was a 23.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,979 shares of company stock worth $16,068,898. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 681 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Choreo LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Ligand Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS was $2.67, exceeding the $2.33 analyst consensus, while revenue of $78.75 million also topped the $77 million estimate. Ligand Q3 earnings flash
• Positive Sentiment: Royalty revenue rose 51% year over year to $70.3 million, highlighting the strength of Ligand’s royalty-based business and supporting investor optimism about recurring revenue growth. Ligand third-quarter financial results
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its full-year 2026 adjusted diluted EPS guidance to $9.50-$9.75 from $9.00-$9.50 and reaffirmed its revenue outlook, providing a stronger earnings outlook. Ligand third-quarter guidance update
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target to $357 from $345 and maintained an “outperform” rating, signaling continued analyst confidence in LGND’s outlook. Royal Bank of Canada rating update
• Neutral Sentiment: The quarterly report was mixed: revenue declined 31.8% year over year and EPS fell from $3.09 in the prior-year quarter, but the results still exceeded expectations because of the company’s royalty performance and earnings mix. Ligand third-quarter earnings results

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, acquires and licenses technologies intended to improve the development and commercialization of medicines. Rather than operating primarily as a traditional drug manufacturer, Ligand generally works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners, receiving licensing payments, royalties and other consideration tied to partnered products.

The company’s principal technology is Captisol, a modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain active pharmaceutical ingredients.