Barclays Boosts Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Price Target to $160.00

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its target price increased by analysts at Barclays from $150.00 to $160.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 34.37% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on LGND. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. 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 lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $119.07 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 47.44 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $114.00 and its 200-day moving average is $102.32. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $67.36 and a 52 week high of $129.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total value of $132,523.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,557,963.40. The trade was a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,728 shares of company stock valued at $2,271,575. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 708,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,707,000 after acquiring an additional 44,543 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 707,414 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,805,000 after acquiring an additional 18,642 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 604,038 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $60,458,000 after acquiring an additional 17,414 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% during the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 545,821 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,631,000 after acquiring an additional 30,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 428,270 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,874,000 after acquiring an additional 22,495 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.