Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $239.3333.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.58, for a total value of $88,533.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,654 shares in the company, valued at $8,275,925.32. This trade represents a 1.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.31, for a total transaction of $339,711.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 26,186 shares in the company, valued at $4,931,085.66. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 3,205 shares of company stock valued at $608,923 over the last three months. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised 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 valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $195.49 on Wednesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $93.58 and a 12-month high of $212.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.44 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.33. The company has a quick ratio of 24.30, a current ratio of 24.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $1.13. The firm had revenue of $86.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.71 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 19.34% and a return on equity of 5.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 123.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.400-7.650 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.