Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Given Buy Rating at HC Wainwright

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by HC Wainwright in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $144.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 43.78% from the stock’s current price.

LGND has been the topic of several other reports. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.25.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND stock traded up $3.23 during trading on Thursday, hitting $100.16. 132,926 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 149,009. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $49.24 and a 1 year high of $112.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $90.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.60. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $33.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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 shares were sold at an average price of $84.54, for a total value of $290,817.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,489,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $84.54, for a total value of $290,817.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,489,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.39 per share, for a total transaction of $243,475.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 123,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,979,943.90. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,469 shares of company stock valued at $1,242,773 in the last 90 days. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,708 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 14,344 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 32,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,390,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the second quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% 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.