Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its price target upped by Barclays from $125.00 to $150.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

LGND has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $157.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ LGND traded down $8.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $121.25. The company had a trading volume of 260,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,330. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $51.21 and a 1-year high of $129.90. The company has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a PE ratio of 56.13 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $105.57 and a 200-day moving average of $95.22.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $41.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 11,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.61, for a total value of $1,202,792.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 49,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,228,751.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 11,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.61, for a total transaction of $1,202,792.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 49,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,228,751.10. 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 available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total transaction of $132,523.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 24,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,557,963.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,368 shares of company stock worth $3,458,560 over the last quarter. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $67,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by 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.