Sifting through countless of stocks in the Pharmaceuticals industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated or Viatris Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated and Viatris Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated and Viatris Inc.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, develops and licenses biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. It offers Pradefovir, Posaconazole, Voriconazole, CAPVAXIVE, NOXAFIL, MenFive, and ZELSUVMI for infectious disease; EVOMELA and KYPROLIS for multiple myeloma; FILSPARI for the treatment of immunoglobulin a nephropathy; PNEUMOSIL, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia in children; and QARZIBA to treat neuroblastoma. The company also provides Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; RYLAZE, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; TZIELD, a CD3-directed antibody indicated to delay the onset of Stage 3 type 1 diabetes in adults and children aged 8 years and older with Stage 2 T1D; and VAXNEUVANCE for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes. In addition, it offers Duavee for menopause; Frovatriptan to treat Neurology; FYCOMPA and SESQUIENT for CNS; MEKINIST for cardiology; Nexterone, a captisol-enabled formulation of amiodarone; VEKLURY, an antiviral treatment for COVID-19; and Viviant for osteoporosis. Further, the company develops ACLX-002, Ciforadenant, UGN-301, Viright, MB07133, BOT/BAL, and Lasofoxifene for oncology; Ensifentrine for respiratory disease; QTORIN for rare disease; Sparsentan for kidney disease; VK2809 for hepatology; ANEB-001 for acute cannabinoid intoxication; Reproxalap for opthamology; VK0214 for Rare Disease; and VK5211 for musculoskeletal disorder. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Jupiter, Florida.

Viatris Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a healthcare company in North America, Europe, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, rest of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. It operates in four segments: Developed Markets, Greater China, JANZ, and Emerging Markets. The company offers prescription brand drugs, generic drugs, complex generic drugs, and biosimilars. It also provides drugs in various therapeutic areas covering various noncommunicable and infectious diseases, including cardiovascular, CNS and anesthesia, dermatology, diabetes and metabolism, eye care, gastroenterology, immunology, oncology, and respiratory and allergy, as well as support services, such as diagnostic clinics, educational seminars, and digital tools to help patients better manage their health. In addition, the company offers medicines in the form of oral solid doses, injectables, and complex dosage forms to retail and pharmacy establishments, wholesalers and distributors, payers, insurers and governments, and institutions. It distributes its products through pharmaceutical wholesalers/distributors, pharmaceutical retailers, institutional pharmacies, mail-order and e-commerce pharmacies, and specialty pharmacies under the Lyrica, Lipitor, Celebrex, Viagra, Creon, Influvac, Wixela Inhub, EpiPen Auto-Injector, Fraxiparine, Yupelri, Norvasc, Amitiza, Effexor, Lipacreon, Zoloft, Xalabrands, Dymista, Xanax, and Breyna brands. The company has collaboration agreements with Mapi Pharma Ltd. to develop and commercialize long-acting glatiramer acetate depot products and additional products; Revance Therapeutics, Inc. to develop, manufacture, and commercialize a biosimilar to the branded biologic product, BOTOX; and Theravance Biopharma, Inc. to develop and commercialize revefenacin. Viatris Inc. was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

Latest Pharmaceuticals and Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, Viatris Inc. Stock News

As of August 21, 2026, Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated had a $5.7 billion market capitalization, compared to the Pharmaceuticals median of $646.7 million. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated’s stock is up 51.4% in 2026, down 2.8% in the previous five trading days and up 84.41% in the past year.

Currently, Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated’s price-earnings ratio is 31.1. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated’s trailing 12-month revenue is $290.5 million with a 67.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 33.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $9.315 per share for the current fiscal year. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated does not currently pay a dividend.

As of August 21, 2026, Viatris Inc. had a $18.7 billion market cap, putting it in the 85th percentile of all stocks. Viatris Inc.’s stock is up 31.1% in 2026, up 0.6% in the previous five trading days and up 53.24% in the past year.

Currently, Viatris Inc. does not have a price-earnings ratio. Viatris Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $14.7 billion with a -2.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 4.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.501 per share for the current fiscal year. Viatris Inc. currently has a 2.9% dividend yield.

How We Compare Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated and Viatris Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated and Viatris Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated and Viatris Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated	LGND	F
Viatris Inc.	VTRS	A

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a Value Score of 11, which is Ultra Expensive. Viatris Inc. has a Value Score of 81, which is Deep Value.

The Value Stock Winner: Viatris Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, Viatris Inc. is considered to have better value than Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, Viatris Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated and Viatris Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated	LGND	C
Viatris Inc.	VTRS	B

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a Quality Score of 41, which is Average. Viatris Inc. has a Quality Score of 77, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Viatris Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Viatris Inc. has a better overall quality grade than Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Viatris Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated and Viatris Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated	LGND	A
Viatris Inc.	VTRS	B

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a Momentum Score of 86, which is Very Strong. Viatris Inc. has a Momentum Score of 71, which is Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is considered to have stronger momentum compared to Viatris Inc.. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated and Viatris Inc. Grades

In addition to Quality, Momentum and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Estimate Revisions.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated and Viatris Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated or Viatris Inc. Stock?

Overall, Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated stock has a Value Score of 11, Momentum Score of 86 and Quality Score of 41.

Viatris Inc. stock has a Value Score of 81, Momentum Score of 71 and Quality Score of 77.

Comparing Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated and Viatris Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.