Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Stock Price

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its target price raised by Citigroup from $397.00 to $402.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

LGND has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays started coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, September 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $345.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America increased 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. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $326.00 price objective (up from $285.00) on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.78.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 5.4%

LGND stock opened at $299.00 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 133.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 30.96, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $175.89 and a 52 week high of $326.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $254.61.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.34. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $78.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.09 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 31.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.07, for a total value of $1,520,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 31,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,685,845.78. This trade represents a 13.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.06, for a total value of $9,241,070.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,088,893.76. This represents a 53.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 57,090 shares of company stock worth $16,866,208 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 283,567 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $56,614,000 after buying an additional 3,940 shares in the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $81,424,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.4% during the first 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, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $41,429,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $402 from $397 and maintained a Buy rating, implying substantial upside from the referenced $299 share price. Citigroup analyst coverage
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright raised its Q4 2026 EPS estimate to $2.50 from $2.11 and reiterated its Buy rating. HC Wainwright estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Ligand’s latest reported quarter beat EPS and revenue expectations, though revenue fell 31.8% year over year, a mixed fundamental backdrop for investors.
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright sharply lowered its FY2026 EPS estimate to $2.88 from $5.02 and cut FY2027 to $7.15 from $7.90. Those reduced full-year forecasts may offset the improved Q4 outlook. HC Wainwright estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares, reducing his holdings by 13.57%; the transaction was under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Director Jason Aryeh also sold shares, including 700 on November 2, though that sale represented a small reduction in his holdings. Insider transactions

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, acquires and licenses technologies intended to improve the development and commercialization of medicines. Rather than operating primarily as a traditional drug manufacturer, Ligand generally works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners, receiving licensing payments, royalties and other consideration tied to partnered products.

The company’s principal technology is Captisol, a modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain active pharmaceutical ingredients.