Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $144.83.

Several analysts recently issued reports on LGND shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $157.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, November 8th.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of LGND opened at $122.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.82 and a beta of 0.99. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $57.00 and a twelve month high of $129.90. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, insider Andrew Reardon sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total value of $199,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,244,386.40. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,557,963.40. The trade was a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,322 shares of company stock valued at $1,974,073. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Chicago Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 124.3% in the second quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 514,946 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,389,000 after acquiring an additional 285,350 shares in the last quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $14,367,000. F M Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,350,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 372,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,312,000 after purchasing an additional 114,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 503.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 94,659 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,793,000 after buying an additional 78,973 shares during the last quarter. 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.