Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $3.01 EPS

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The biotechnology company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $3.01, RTT News reports. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 37.80%. The business had revenue of $30.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of LGND stock opened at $73.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $74.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.05. The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63 and a beta of 1.01. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $49.24 and a 12 month high of $94.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $144.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,893 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.30, for a total value of $140,649.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 28,926 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,201.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 10.40% 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.