Ligand Pharmaceuticals closed the most recent trading day at $168.87, moving +1.13% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.86%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.63%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 2.95%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the drugmaker had lost 37.95% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's loss of 10.01% and the S&P 500's loss of 8.85% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from LGND as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be November 8, 2018. The company is expected to report EPS of $1, up 44.93% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $42.78 million, up 28.16% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $6.33 per share and revenue of $235.56 million. These totals would mark changes of +94.17% and +66.94%, respectively, from last year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for LGND. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.52% lower. LGND is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that LGND has a Forward P/E ratio of 26.4 right now. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 26.
It is also worth noting that LGND currently has a PEG ratio of 1.32. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.78 as of yesterday's close.
The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 85, which puts it in the top 33% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow LGND in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
Ligand Pharmaceuticals closed the most recent trading day at $168.87, moving +1.13% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.86%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.63%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 2.95%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the drugmaker had lost 37.95% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's loss of 10.01% and the S&P 500's loss of 8.85% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from LGND as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be November 8, 2018. The company is expected to report EPS of $1, up 44.93% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $42.78 million, up 28.16% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $6.33 per share and revenue of $235.56 million. These totals would mark changes of +94.17% and +66.94%, respectively, from last year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for LGND. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.52% lower. LGND is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that LGND has a Forward P/E ratio of 26.4 right now. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 26.
It is also worth noting that LGND currently has a PEG ratio of 1.32. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.78 as of yesterday's close.
The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 85, which puts it in the top 33% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow LGND in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.