Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock Price Expected to Rise, HC Wainwright Analyst Says

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its price target boosted by equities research analysts at HC Wainwright from $289.00 to $358.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.70% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on LGND. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $326.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $387.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $335.86.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ LGND traded up $9.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $312.13. 216,879 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 279,064. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $137.14 and a 1 year high of $326.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.35, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $283.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.14.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $63.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.87 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total transaction of $1,651,302.38. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,273,043.98. This represents a 56.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $1,125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 102,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,645,000. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,231 shares of company stock valued at $9,199,401. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $201,623,000 after buying an additional 14,491 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,232,000 after purchasing an additional 22,629 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 516,464 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $97,648,000 after purchasing an additional 138,169 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $93,809,000 after purchasing an additional 266,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 493,589 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $93,336,000 after buying an additional 19,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.