Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Earnings Beat

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $200.00 and last traded at $194.8050, with a volume of 18024 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $190.38.

The biotechnology company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $1.13. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 40.44% and a negative return on equity of 9.21%. The firm had revenue of $86.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 123.0% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.400-7.650 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LGND has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $157.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jason Aryeh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $1,708,100.00. Following the sale, the director owned 69,289 shares in the company, valued at $11,835,254.09. This represents a 12.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.05, for a total value of $89,220.35. Following the sale, the director owned 44,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,518,537.40. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,401 shares of company stock worth $1,956,894. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. Acuitas Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,922.9% during the 3rd quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 402,494 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $71,298,000 after purchasing an additional 382,597 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 541,845 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $95,982,000 after purchasing an additional 202,103 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at $16,526,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 57.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 300,025 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,107,000 after purchasing an additional 109,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 190.2% during the 1st quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 68,299 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $7,181,000 after purchasing an additional 44,760 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.49. The firm has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.70 and a beta of 0.91.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.