Ligand sees FY28 adjusted EPS $10.00-$10.50

Ligand Pharmaceuticals hosted an Investor and Analyst Day in New York City earlier today. The company provided an illustrative 5-year outlook, as follows: Ligand’s existing commercial programs, pipeline of mid- to late-stage programs and portfolio of over 75 additional partnerships are expected to drive five-year growth in royalties at a compounded annual growth rate of 16%. Layering on the first wave of potential future investments, the five-year CAGR for royalties could increase to above 20%. Total core revenue could reach approximately $290M by 2028. EBITDA margin could exceed 80% by 2028. Management highlighted a selection of the most advanced late-stage assets in its portfolio and reviewed seven potential major pipeline events expected in 2024, including: PDUFA target date for our berdazimer gel, January 2024; PDUFA target date for Verona Pharma’s ensifentrine, June 2024; Phase 2b, 52-week biopsy data on Viking Therapeutics’ VK-2809, H1 2024; Additional Phase 3 data on Merck’s V116; Phase 3 data on Takeda’s soticlestat; Phase 3 data on Marinus Pharmaceutical’s ganaxolone-IV, Q2 2024; Initiation of Phase 3 trial for Palvella’s PTX-022.