Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $147.00.

A number of research firms recently commented on LGND. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $114.64 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $115.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.19. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 45.67 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $67.53 and a one year high of $129.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total transaction of $989,121.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,139,647.94. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total transaction of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at $2,244,386.40. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,178 shares of company stock worth $1,485,824 over the last three months. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LGND. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 8,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $716,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 10,847 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,812 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.2% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 99,034 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,345,000 after purchasing an additional 13,839 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 352.7% in the second quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 14,120 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 11,001 shares during the period. Finally, F M Investments LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $11,350,000. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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.