Ligand Pharma Issues Mixed Guidance For FY23

At its Investor and Analyst Day event, Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated LGND provided an overview of Ligand's corporate structure and business following the successful spin-off of its OmniAb antibody discovery business.
Management also introduced 2023 financial guidance.
Related: Ligand To Spin-Off OmniAb Via Avista Capital-Backed SPAC Merger.
The management reviewed Ligand's role in manufacturing Veklury (remdesivir) to treat COVID-19 and highlighted that cumulative sale of Captisol related to COVID between 2020 and 2022 are expected to exceed $300 million, providing Ligand with significant non-dilutive capital.
The company forecasts FY23 core revenue of $118-$122 million, including $72-$76 million from royalties, $21 million from sales of Captisol (excluding COVID-related sales) and $25 million from contract revenue.
It forecasts adjusted diluted EPS of $3.10-$3.30 versus the consensus of $2.99.
Excluding COVID-related Captisol sales, the company's FY22 outlook was for revenue of $99 million - $104 million and adjusted EPS of $2.05 to $2.20, as per the company's Q3 report.
Ligand estimates that at the end of 2022, it will have $150 million of cash and investments to fund its M&A initiatives.
Price Action: LGND shares are down 1.44% at $63.87 on the last check Tuesday.

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