Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock Rated “Overweight” in New Coverage at Barclays

Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) in a research note published on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $345.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on LGND. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $326.00 price objective (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $337.89.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $301.52 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $290.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $258.69. The company has a current ratio of 31.18, a quick ratio of 30.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $166.10 and a 12-month high of $326.63. The firm has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.11.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $63.69 million during 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%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.09, for a total value of $1,430,450.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 36,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,446,290.26. The trade was a 12.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 31,641 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.06, for a total transaction of $9,241,070.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,696 shares in the company, valued at $8,088,893.76. The trade was a 53.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 54,979 shares of company stock valued at $16,114,948 in the last three months. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,040.0% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 342 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 114.5% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 354 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 118.9% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 243 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: New Barclays coverage: Barclays initiated coverage of Ligand with an “overweight” rating and a $345 price target, implying meaningful upside from the referenced price. The endorsement adds a new positive institutional view of Ligand’s royalty and drug-development platform.
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright remains bullish: The firm reaffirmed its “buy” rating and raised or maintained a $358 price target, indicating confidence in Ligand’s earnings outlook and partnered drug pipeline.
• Positive Sentiment: AvenCell financing expands pipeline exposure: Ligand agreed to provide up to $47 million to AvenCell Therapeutics to advance next-generation, controllable allogeneic CAR-T therapies for cancer. The transaction gives Ligand potential participation in an emerging cell-therapy platform and could create future royalty or milestone opportunities, although returns depend on clinical and commercial success. Ligand and AvenCell Therapeutics financing agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Additional positive analyst sentiment: Citigroup reportedly expects Ligand’s stock to rise, adding to the generally favorable analyst backdrop. Citigroup analyst outlook for Ligand Pharmaceuticals
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed healthcare-sector views: A broader analyst report describes conflicting sentiment across Amgen, Ligand and Compass Therapeutics; however, the specific recent ratings highlighted for Ligand are favorable. Analyst sentiment on healthcare companies
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data is unclear: A report described a large increase in short interest but listed total short interest at zero shares and a zero-day days-to-cover ratio, suggesting the data may be incomplete or anomalous rather than a meaningful trading signal.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.