Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND) to Release Earnings on Thursday

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) is expected to issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, February 27th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.37 per share and revenue of $39.03 million for the quarter. Investors that wish to register for the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ LGND opened at $117.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 46.64 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.82. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $67.72 and a 1-year high of $129.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LGND shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Barclays raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $147.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total transaction of $297,501.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 29,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,649,529.75. This trade represents a 7.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.