Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Given New $243.00 Price Target at HC Wainwright

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its price objective raised by research analysts at HC Wainwright from $239.00 to $243.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 5.21% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on LGND. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America started coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $270.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.43.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 8.2%

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $17.53 on Tuesday, reaching $230.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 201,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 224,201. The company has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $199.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $195.03. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $98.89 and a 52 week high of $234.14. The company has a quick ratio of 21.98, a current ratio of 22.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.87, for a total transaction of $207,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 32,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,816,680.91. The trade was a 2.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.24, for a total value of $1,006,200.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,327,713.68. This represents a 10.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,915 shares of company stock worth $6,385,917. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,561 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the period. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 516,464 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $97,648,000 after purchasing an additional 138,169 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 2,417 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,459,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.