Ligand Pharmaceuticals’ (LGND) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Oppenheimer

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Oppenheimer in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $326.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $285.00. Oppenheimer’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.32% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on LGND. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LGND traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $287.67. The stock had a trading volume of 17,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 278,532. 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 stock has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $279.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.93. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $131.67 and a 12-month high of $326.63.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 4.56 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.28, for a total value of $1,566,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,005,505.92. This represents a 10.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 2,145 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total transaction of $544,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,541,766. The trade was a 6.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,231 shares of company stock worth $7,754,451. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $75,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,040.0% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 342 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently 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.