Ligand Pharmaceuticals’ (LGND) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $135.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.4 %

Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $113.38 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.99. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $67.53 and a 1-year high of $129.90. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.17 and a beta of 1.01.

Insider Activity at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total value of $297,501.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,649,529.75. This represents a 7.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

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.