Ligand reports Q1 EPS $1.20, consensus 78c

Reports Q1 revenue $31.0M, consensus $27.9M. “We are pleased to report another quarter of strong financial results driven by the performance of our commercial royalty portfolio. Simultaneously, we continue to build our portfolio of development stage royalty assets to deliver future growth,” said Todd Davis, CEO of Ligand. “We continue to originate a robust pipeline of royalty opportunities with our proactive business development efforts. This is evidenced by our most recent royalty financing agreement with Agenus which will add several new late stage oncology assets to our portfolio. As we look ahead to the near term, we have several important catalysts in our existing portfolio in 2024. This includes Verona Pharma’s ensifentrine and Merck’s V116, both of which have been assigned PDUFA dates in June, top-line Phase 3 data on Takeda’s soticlestat, expected in the third quarter, and the commercial launch of ZELSUVMI(R), a much-needed treatment for molluscum contagiosum, in late 2024.”