Benchmark Issues Positive Forecast for Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock Price

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its target price lifted by Benchmark from $110.00 to $135.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

LGND has been the subject of a number of other research reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $157.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 6.7 %

Shares of LGND stock traded down $8.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $121.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 260,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,330. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.13 and a beta of 0.99. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $51.21 and a one year high of $129.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.22.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. The firm had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total value of $132,523.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 24,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,557,963.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total transaction of $132,523.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,557,963.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 1,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.54, for a total transaction of $122,109.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 67,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,093,448.94. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,368 shares of company stock valued at $3,458,560. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Woodstock Corp boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the third quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 29,211 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,924,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,896 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,708 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.