HC Wainwright Reaffirms Buy Rating for Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND)

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by HC Wainwright in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $157.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price target points to a potential upside of 42.68% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Craig Hallum increased their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Benchmark upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $132.83.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of LGND stock opened at $110.04 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $104.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.50. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $51.21 and a 12-month high of $115.53. The firm has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.94 and a beta of 1.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.34. The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $97.39 per share, with a total value of $243,475.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,979,943.90. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total value of $159,585.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at $2,397,392.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Todd C. Davis acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $97.39 per share, for a total transaction of $243,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,010 shares in the company, valued at $11,979,943.90. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,613 shares of company stock worth $5,255,692 in the last three months. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Chicago Capital LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 124.3% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 514,946 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,389,000 after acquiring an additional 285,350 shares during the last quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $14,367,000. F M Investments LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $11,350,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 708,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,707,000 after buying an additional 44,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 155.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 73,161 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,348,000 after acquiring an additional 44,499 shares during the period. 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.