Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Receives $144.83 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $144.83.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LGND. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $157.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, November 8th. 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. Finally, 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.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LGND opened at $119.19 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.49 and a beta of 0.99. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $57.00 and a one year high of $129.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.66.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In related news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 9,772 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.22, for a total value of $989,121.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,139,647.94. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.39, for a total value of $159,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,397,392.26. This trade represents a 6.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,822 shares of company stock valued at $2,133,658 in the last ninety days. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LGND. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 428,270 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,874,000 after acquiring an additional 22,495 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after buying an additional 7,247 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC bought a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $210,000. Castleark Management LLC lifted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% during the third quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 67,923 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,798,000 after purchasing an additional 6,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 707,414 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,805,000 after buying an additional 18,642 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.