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

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 5.500-5.700 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 5.650. The company issued revenue guidance of $160.0 million-$165.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $163.4 million.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on LGND. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $114.25 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $67.53 and a one year high of $129.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 45.52 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $116.15 and a 200-day moving average of $104.07.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total value of $297,501.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 29,515 shares in the company, valued at $3,649,529.75. This trade represents a 7.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total value of $244,842.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,402,691.39. The trade was a 9.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.