Ligand Pharma (LGND) Swings Higher, but Upside Could Be Limited

Shares of Ligand Pharma (NASDAQ: LGND) swung higher on Monday. The move is tied in part to an M&A fueled rally in Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ONXX), which licenses Captisol technology from Ligand. In the view of analyst Irina Rivkind of Cantor Fitzgerald, the stock is trading in a fair range.

"We continue to expect a Promacta generic filer, which could adversely impact the stock. Additionally, any potential near-term weakness in Kyprolis or Promacta performance relative to consensus could also hurt Ligand. However, longer-term we remain positive around Phase III data in CE-Carbamazepine (Mid-2013), Promacta oncology data (4Q:13), the Aprela PDUFA (October 3), and the Kyprolis Phase III data releases from both FOCUS and ASPIRE (late 2013/early 2014) and believe that each of these events could boost the stock. Any setbacks in these compounds would be unexpected (and painful), in our view," said Rivkind.

Cantor Fitzgerald has a Hold rating on Ligand Pharma with a modified price target of $36.00 (from $28.00)

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Ligand Pharma (NASDAQ: LGND) click here. For more ratings news on Ligand Pharma click here.

Shares of Ligand Pharma closed at $37.40 yesterday.

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