Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Releases FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 5.500-5.700 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 5.650. The company issued revenue guidance of $160.0 million-$165.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $163.4 million.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LGND shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 4.4 %

NASDAQ LGND opened at $109.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 43.50 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $67.53 and a twelve month high of $129.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.07.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total value of $297,501.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,515 shares in the company, valued at $3,649,529.75. The trade was a 7.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total value of $244,842.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,647 shares in the company, valued at $2,402,691.39. This trade represents a 9.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

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.