Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives Buy Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $95.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Separately, HC Wainwright reissued a buy rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $116.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ LGND opened at $79.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 29.01 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $49.24 and a twelve month high of $94.57. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.31.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.55. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 37.80%. The business had revenue of $28.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.54 million. Research analysts predict that Ligand Pharmaceuticals will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,893 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.30, for a total value of $140,649.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 28,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,149,201.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 10.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 95.1% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 441 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 38.0% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 566 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 655.6% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 612 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.