Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $143.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut Ligand Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.43.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

LGND stock opened at $104.27 on Thursday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $67.72 and a 1-year high of $129.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.54 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $110.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.98.

Insider Transactions at Ligand Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 5,000 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $575,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,171,651.37. The trade was a 20.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 7,247 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 428,270 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,874,000 after buying an additional 22,495 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $771,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,142 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 550.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,749 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after acquiring an additional 10,789 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

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.