Benchmark Reaffirms Buy Rating for Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND)

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by Benchmark in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $135.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.76% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of LGND opened at $114.64 on Monday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $67.53 and a 12-month high of $129.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 45.67 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $115.47 and its 200 day moving average is $103.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total value of $297,501.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 29,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,649,529.75. This represents a 7.54 % 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Woodstock Corp grew its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 29,211 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,924,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings 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 valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,708 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. 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.