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

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $144.83.

LGND has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $157.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, COO Matthew E. Korenberg sold 6,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.10, for a total value of $653,227.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 50,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,285,885.70. This trade represents a 11.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew Reardon sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total value of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,534 shares in the company, valued at $2,244,386.40. The trade was a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,322 shares of company stock valued at $1,974,073. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,884,112 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $137,729,000 after buying an additional 7,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 708,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,707,000 after buying an additional 44,543 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 707,414 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,805,000 after buying an additional 18,642 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 604,038 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $60,458,000 after buying an additional 17,414 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% in the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 545,821 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,631,000 after buying an additional 30,875 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LGND opened at $124.33 on Friday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $57.00 and a 1-year high of $129.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $108.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 48.59 and a beta of 0.99.

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.