Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Price Target Raised to $397.00

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its price objective upped by Citigroup from $390.00 to $397.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $330.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $289.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $255.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $337.89.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.8%

LGND stock opened at $301.52 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 31.18 and a quick ratio of 30.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $290.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $258.33. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $166.10 and a fifty-two week high of $326.63.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.40. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 67.88% and a return on equity of 20.06%. The company had revenue of $63.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.09, for a total transaction of $1,430,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 36,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,446,290.26. This represents a 12.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Martine Zimmermann sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.00, for a total transaction of $342,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,897 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,645. This represents a 23.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 54,979 shares of company stock valued at $16,114,948 over the last quarter. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 115.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 496,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $93,809,000 after acquiring an additional 266,304 shares during the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $81,424,000. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $24,813,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,429,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 265.4% in the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 117,432 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $22,204,000 after purchasing an additional 85,297 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Ligand Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New Barclays coverage: Barclays initiated coverage of Ligand with an “overweight” rating and a $345 price target, implying meaningful upside from the referenced price. The endorsement adds a new positive institutional view of Ligand’s royalty and drug-development platform.
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright remains bullish: The firm reaffirmed its “buy” rating and raised or maintained a $358 price target, indicating confidence in Ligand’s earnings outlook and partnered drug pipeline.
• Positive Sentiment: AvenCell financing expands pipeline exposure: Ligand agreed to provide up to $47 million to AvenCell Therapeutics to advance next-generation, controllable allogeneic CAR-T therapies for cancer. The transaction gives Ligand potential participation in an emerging cell-therapy platform and could create future royalty or milestone opportunities, although returns depend on clinical and commercial success. Ligand and AvenCell Therapeutics financing agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Additional positive analyst sentiment: Citigroup reportedly expects Ligand’s stock to rise, adding to the generally favorable analyst backdrop. Citigroup analyst outlook for Ligand Pharmaceuticals
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed healthcare-sector views: A broader analyst report describes conflicting sentiment across Amgen, Ligand and Compass Therapeutics; however, the specific recent ratings highlighted for Ligand are favorable. Analyst sentiment on healthcare companies
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data is unclear: A report described a large increase in short interest but listed total short interest at zero shares and a zero-day days-to-cover ratio, suggesting the data may be incomplete or anomalous rather than a meaningful trading signal.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical company that develops, acquires and licenses technologies designed to help pharmaceutical companies discover, develop and commercialize medicines. Rather than focusing primarily on building a large portfolio of internally marketed drugs, Ligand operates an asset-light business model centered on partnerships, licensing agreements, royalties and other economic interests in partnered products.

The company’s principal technology is Captisol, a proprietary modified cyclodextrin designed to improve the solubility, stability and delivery of certain drug compounds.