Ligand Pharmaceuticals’ (LGND) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reiterated their buy rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $144.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Separately, Benchmark reiterated a buy rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, June 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $122.25.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $96.30 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $82.93 and its 200 day moving average is $77.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $49.24 and a 1 year high of $97.80.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $3.01. The business had revenue of $30.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.92 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 8.52% and a net margin of 79.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.04, for a total value of $830,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,205 shares in the company, valued at $1,843,903.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.01, for a total value of $505,136.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,090.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.04, for a total value of $830,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,843,903.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,403 shares of company stock worth $2,150,882 over the last quarter. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $107,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 356.2% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,012 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,571 shares during the period. Finally, M&R Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $146,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

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.