Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives $147.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $147.00.

LGND has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 23rd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $114.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.75 and a beta of 1.12. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $67.72 and a 52 week high of $129.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $114.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,402,691.39. The trade was a 9.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 119.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 406 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 825.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.