Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $108.27 and traded as high as $115.81. Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $115.03, with a volume of 77,219 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $114.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.39. The company has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.83 and a beta of 1.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total value of $244,842.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,647 shares in the company, valued at $2,402,691.39. The trade was a 9.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 29,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,649,529.75. This trade represents a 7.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position 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 valued at $59,707,000 after acquiring an additional 44,543 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 707,414 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,805,000 after buying an additional 18,642 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 604,038 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $60,458,000 after buying an additional 17,414 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 551,588 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,103,000 after buying an additional 5,767 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 428,270 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,874,000 after buying an additional 22,495 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% 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.