Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND) to Release Earnings on Tuesday

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) is anticipated to issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Tuesday, February 25th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.37 per share and revenue of $39.03 million for the quarter. Parties interested in listening to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ LGND opened at $120.00 on Tuesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $67.72 and a 52-week high of $129.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.81 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $113.82 and a 200-day moving average of $110.01.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total transaction of $244,842.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,402,691.39. This represents a 9.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total transaction of $297,501.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,649,529.75. This trade represents a 7.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LGND has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, 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 note on Monday, December 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $147.00.

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.