Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Research Coverage Started at Citigroup

Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $387.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LGND. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND opened at $302.15 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $270.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $227.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a current ratio of 21.28. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $129.55 and a 1 year high of $326.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of 41.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.10.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.10 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 4.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total transaction of $544,830.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,629 shares in the company, valued at $8,541,766. This trade represents a 6.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 102,580 shares in the company, valued at $25,645,000. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,698 shares of company stock worth $9,019,252. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LGND. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 25.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $344,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 55,327 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,817,000 after purchasing an additional 4,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 176.2% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after purchasing an additional 23,553 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company’s product offerings center around several core platforms.