Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $260.97 and last traded at $260.1250, with a volume of 18454 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $255.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LGND has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.71.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.4%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.44. The company has a current ratio of 21.28, a quick ratio of 20.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 35.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $51.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.06, for a total transaction of $1,135,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,396,196.92. This represents a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total transaction of $1,651,302.38. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,273,043.98. The trade was a 56.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,020 shares of company stock valued at $8,216,533. 7.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,337,000. Argent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $696,000. Cim Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 157,865 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,518,000 after acquiring an additional 37,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,009,891 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $201,623,000 after acquiring an additional 14,491 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.