Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price points to a potential upside of 40.09% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.43.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.6 %

LGND stock opened at $102.08 on Thursday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $67.72 and a twelve month high of $129.90. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $111.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.92. The stock has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.67 and a beta of 1.07.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total value of $575,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,171,651.37. This trade represents a 20.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LGND. FMR LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 550.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,749 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 10,789 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,142 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.7% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 15,949 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,288 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 707,414 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,805,000 after purchasing an additional 18,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.