Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $238.31 and last traded at $231.1850, with a volume of 11494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $231.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LGND has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $247.29.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $196.54. The company has a current ratio of 22.23, a quick ratio of 21.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.68, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.35, for a total transaction of $1,031,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 36,869 shares in the company, valued at $7,607,918.15. The trade was a 11.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.23, for a total value of $94,441.41. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 42,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,544,824.19. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,915 shares of company stock worth $6,385,917. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 85.8% in the 3rd 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

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.