Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) in a research report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $130.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Benchmark restated a buy rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Craig Hallum raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a buy rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $127.25.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $100.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $49.24 and a 52-week high of $112.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $89.74 and a 200 day moving average of $80.65.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $3.01. The company had revenue of $30.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.92 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 8.52% and a net margin of 79.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 10,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.04, for a total transaction of $830,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,843,903.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $446,818.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,026,024.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.04, for a total value of $830,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,205 shares in the company, valued at $1,843,903.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,882. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,884,112 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $137,729,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 661,298 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,230,000 after acquiring an additional 46,906 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 659,434 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,097,000 after acquiring an additional 191,870 shares during the last quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC now owns 490,752 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,874,000 after acquiring an additional 62,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 279,784 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $20,452,000 after acquiring an additional 3,776 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.