Analysts Set Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Price Target at $147.00

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $147.00.

Several analysts have weighed in on LGND shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LGND. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,761 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 5,358 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC now owns 8,260 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 1,380 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 29,211 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,924,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,896 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $115.19 on Wednesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $67.72 and a fifty-two week high of $129.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.89 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $114.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.68.

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.