Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $238.31 and last traded at $231.1850, with a volume of 11494 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $231.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LGND has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America started coverage on Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $244.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $239.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $276.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $247.29.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 22.23 and a quick ratio of 21.98. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $196.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 39.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.14.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.56. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 46.42%.The firm had revenue of $59.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.5% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-9.000 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.87, for a total value of $207,870.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 32,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,816,680.91. This represents a 2.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.23, for a total value of $94,441.41. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 42,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,544,824.19. The trade was a 1.09% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,915 shares of company stock valued at $6,385,917. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,014 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 2,872 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 575 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 86.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.