Zacks Small Cap Has Positive Outlook of LGND FY2026 Earnings

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) – Equities researchers at Zacks Small Cap upped their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note issued on Monday, December 16th. Zacks Small Cap analyst J. Vandermosten now expects that the biotechnology company will earn $5.00 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $4.60. The consensus estimate for Ligand Pharmaceuticals’ current full-year earnings is $1.73 per share.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

LGND opened at $122.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $114.39 and a 200-day moving average of $102.59. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.74 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $67.36 and a fifty-two week high of $129.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total transaction of $132,523.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,610 shares in the company, valued at $2,557,963.40. This represents a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total transaction of $297,501.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,649,529.75. The trade was a 7.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,728 shares of company stock worth $2,271,575 over the last three months. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LGND. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 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.