Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $257.7143.

LGND has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 3,057 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $687,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,010 shares in the company, valued at $4,727,250. This trade represents a 12.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.87, for a total transaction of $207,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 32,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,816,680.91. This trade represents a 2.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 37,949 shares of company stock valued at $8,014,056 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LGND. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $231.96 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $217.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.15. The company has a quick ratio of 20.95, a current ratio of 21.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $98.89 and a 52-week high of $247.38. The company has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.47, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.20.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The firm had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.