Zacks Small Cap Issues Optimistic Estimate for LGND Earnings

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) – Analysts at Zacks Small Cap lifted their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a note issued to investors on Monday, December 16th. Zacks Small Cap analyst J. Vandermosten now expects that the biotechnology company will earn $5.00 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $4.60. The consensus estimate for Ligand Pharmaceuticals’ current full-year earnings is $1.73 per share.

LGND has been the subject of a number of other reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of LGND stock opened at $114.41 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $114.74 and its 200-day moving average is $102.84. The stock has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 45.58 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $67.53 and a 1 year high of $129.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LGND. Chicago Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. F M Investments LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $11,350,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 372,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,312,000 after purchasing an additional 114,436 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 503.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 94,659 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,793,000 after purchasing an additional 78,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 708,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,707,000 after purchasing an additional 44,543 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total value of $297,501.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 29,515 shares in the company, valued at $3,649,529.75. This represents a 7.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.94, for a total transaction of $132,523.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,557,963.40. This trade represents a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,728 shares of company stock worth $2,271,575 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.