Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Tuesday

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) is set to post its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Tuesday, August 6th. Analysts expect Ligand Pharmaceuticals to post earnings of $1.10 per share for the quarter. Parties interested in registering for the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $3.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 8.52% and a net margin of 79.30%. The company had revenue of $30.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Ligand Pharmaceuticals to post $4 EPS for the current fiscal year and $5 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $108.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 43,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 148,754. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $49.24 and a 1 year high of $111.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LGND shares. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, June 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.25.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.04, for a total transaction of $830,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,843,903.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $446,818.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,379 shares in the company, valued at $2,026,024.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.04, for a total value of $830,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,843,903.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,882. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.