HC Wainwright Increases Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Price Target to $157.00

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its target price lifted by analysts at HC Wainwright from $144.00 to $157.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 47.57% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.40.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ LGND opened at $106.39 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $103.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.81. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $49.24 and a 12 month high of $112.13. The stock has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 1.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.04 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total transaction of $989,121.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at $5,139,647.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total transaction of $199,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,244,386.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total transaction of $989,121.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,139,647.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 51,613 shares of company stock worth $5,255,692. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.