Ligand Pharmaceuticals’ (LGND) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at HC Wainwright

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $358.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 19.40% from the company’s current price.

LGND has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $266.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $397.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, August 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 price objective for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $337.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of LGND traded up $1.43 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $299.84. 58,685 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 268,575. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $290.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $257.34. The company has a current ratio of 31.18, a quick ratio of 30.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.11. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $163.45 and a 12-month high of $326.63.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $63.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.30 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 67.88% and a return on equity of 20.06%. The firm’s revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martine Zimmermann sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.00, for a total transaction of $342,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,645. This represents a 23.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jason Haas sold 7,138 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.81, for a total transaction of $2,090,077.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,981 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,676.61. This represents a 64.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,979 shares of company stock worth $16,114,948. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $75,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 118.9% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 243 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,040.0% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 342 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 114.5% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 354 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Ligand Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ligand Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright reaffirmed its “buy” rating and set a $358 price target, implying approximately 19% upside from the recently cited price near $300. The endorsement supports the view that Ligand’s royalty portfolio and business-development strategy can drive further appreciation.
• Positive Sentiment: Ligand entered a financing agreement with AvenCell Therapeutics for up to $47 million to advance next-generation, controllable allogeneic CAR-T therapies for cancer. The transaction expands Ligand’s exposure to the cell-therapy pipeline and could create future royalty or milestone opportunities. Ligand and AvenCell Therapeutics financing agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Ligand acquired royalty and milestone interests in Santen’s Ryjunea eye drug from Sydnexis for $23 million. The deal adds another potential source of recurring revenue and further diversifies Ligand’s royalty portfolio beyond its existing assets. Ligand acquires Ryjunea royalty and milestone interest
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $397 from $390 and maintained a “buy” rating, indicating continued analyst confidence in Ligand’s growth prospects and suggesting substantial potential upside from current levels.
• Neutral Sentiment: The AvenCell commitment and Ryjunea acquisition require substantial capital, while AvenCell’s therapies remain in clinical development. Their eventual financial contribution depends on clinical progress, regulatory approvals and commercial adoption.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, acquires and licenses technologies designed to help pharmaceutical companies discover, develop and commercialize medicines. Rather than focusing primarily on building a large portfolio of internally marketed drugs, Ligand operates an asset-light business model centered on partnerships, licensing agreements, royalties and other economic interests in partnered products.

The company’s principal technology is Captisol, a proprietary modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain drug compounds.