Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Releases FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 5.500-5.700 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 5.650. The company issued revenue guidance of $160.0 million-$165.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $163.4 million.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LGND. Barclays upped their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND opened at $114.25 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $67.53 and a 12-month high of $129.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 45.52 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $116.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total value 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 $2,402,691.39. This represents a 9.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $297,501.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.90% 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.