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Ligand Pharma (LGND) Reports In-Line Q4 EPS; Issues Light Q1 Outlook

February 9, 2015 8:31 AM

Ligand Pharma (NASDAQ: LGND) reported Q4 EPS of $0.60, in-line with the analyst estimate of $0.60. Revenue for the quarter came in at $23 million versus the consensus estimate of $23.88 million.

“We closed out 2014 with strong fourth quarter financial results and partners reporting numerous positive late-stage clinical and regulatory events, both in the U.S. and the EU,” said John Higgins, Chief Executive Officer of Ligand. “Looking back at the year and recent weeks, in the U.S. our partners announced positive Phase 3 data on three different programs and approvals of two New Drug Applications. In Europe, our partners announced the approval of two regulatory submissions. Ligand is primed for accelerating financial growth given the prospect of many potential new products and new indications coming online over the next couple of years and the increasing royalties from Promacta and Kyprolis.”

Higgins continued, “We also completed two multi-product licensing transactions during the year, part of 14 licensing transactions during the year. We enjoy a partnered pipeline of more than 100 fully-funded programs. We estimate that our partners will spend more than $1.1 billion on R&D to advance these programs during 2015, a spending level up significantly over 2014 given the increase in number of programs and the more advanced stage of the partnered assets. We made significant repurchases of Ligand's stock in the fourth quarter given our continued strong financial performance and confidence in the business going forward. Also, in early 2015 we promoted Matt Foehr to President in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Ligand.”

Ligand Pharma sees Q1 2015 EPS of $0.25-$0.27, versus the consensus of $0.52. Ligand Pharma sees Q1 2015 revenue of $13-13.5 million, versus the consensus of $20.3 million.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Ligand Pharma (LGND) click here.

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