Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $319.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $387.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $243.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $262.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Jason Aryeh sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,125,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 102,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,645,000. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason Haas sold 6,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.58, for a total value of $1,651,302.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,273,043.98. This represents a 56.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 35,698 shares of company stock worth $9,019,252 over the last ninety days. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 25.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $344,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,660 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 55,327 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,817,000 after purchasing an additional 4,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 176.2% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,882,000 after purchasing an additional 23,553 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.9%

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $305.47 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 21.28 and a quick ratio of 20.95. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $129.55 and a 1-year high of $326.63. The company has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a PE ratio of 41.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $266.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $226.35.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.21). Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 55.95%.The business had revenue of $51.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 4.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.