Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Sets New 1-Year High at $108.93

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $108.93 and last traded at $108.75, with a volume of 136930 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $107.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LGND. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.5 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.57. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03 and a beta of 1.01.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $3.01. The company had revenue of $30.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.92 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 79.30% and a return on equity of 8.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total transaction of $446,818.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,026,024.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Matthew E. Korenberg sold 3,440 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.54, for a total transaction of $290,817.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,489,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,156 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total transaction of $446,818.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,026,024.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,882. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 14,344 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 32,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,390,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,112 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,442,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,627 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.