Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Given New $150.00 Price Target at Barclays

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its target price hoisted by Barclays from $125.00 to $150.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

LGND has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Benchmark boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $157.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 6.7 %

NASDAQ LGND traded down $8.65 on Friday, reaching $121.25. The stock had a trading volume of 260,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,330. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.13 and a beta of 0.99. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $51.21 and a 12-month high of $129.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $105.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.22.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.04 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 57.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 11,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.61, for a total value of $1,202,792.29. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 49,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,228,751.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 11,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.61, for a total value of $1,202,792.29. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 49,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,228,751.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total value of $989,121.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at $5,139,647.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,368 shares of company stock valued at $3,458,560. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Woodstock Corp increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the third quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 29,211 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,924,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,896 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,708 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.