Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Given New $135.00 Price Target at Benchmark

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Benchmark from $110.00 to $135.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 12.33% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on LGND. Barclays upped their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $157.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.17.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 7.5 %

NASDAQ LGND traded down $9.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $120.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 175,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,082. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $105.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.85. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.88 and a beta of 0.99. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $51.21 and a 52 week high of $129.90.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 29.69%. The business had revenue of $41.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Ligand Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 57.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 1,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.54, for a total transaction of $122,109.78. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 67,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,093,448.94. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total value of $159,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,397,392.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 1,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.54, for a total value of $122,109.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 67,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,093,448.94. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,368 shares of company stock valued at $3,458,560 over the last 90 days. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,884,112 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $137,729,000 after acquiring an additional 7,598 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% in 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. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in 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 holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% in 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, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 7.0% in the third quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 312,879 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $31,316,000 after acquiring an additional 20,404 shares in the last quarter. 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.