Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $147.00.

LGND has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $108.73 on Thursday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $67.72 and a 12 month high of $129.90. The firm has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.32 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $113.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.13.

Insider Activity

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total value of $575,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,171,651.37. The trade was a 20.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 2,862 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,297 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 4,034 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.