Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Issues FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 5.000-5.500 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 5.160. The company issued revenue guidance of $140.0 million-$157.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $147.2 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals also updated its FY24 guidance to $5.00-5.50 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on LGND shares. Craig Hallum upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. HC Wainwright reiterated a buy rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $127.25.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND stock traded up $3.60 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $96.92. 106,318 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 149,115. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.25. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $49.24 and a 1-year high of $112.13. The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 79.30% and a return on equity of 8.52%. The company had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $446,818.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,026,024.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Matthew E. Korenberg sold 3,440 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.54, for a total value of $290,817.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,489,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,156 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total transaction of $446,818.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,379 shares in the company, valued at $2,026,024.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,469 shares of company stock worth $1,242,773 in the last ninety days. 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.