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 Nektar Therapeutics or Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated 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 Nektar Therapeutics and Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Nektar Therapeutics and Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated

Nektar Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing therapies that selectively modulate the immune system to treat autoimmune disorders in the United States and internationally. It develops NKTR-358, a regulatory T (Treg) cell stimulator designed to address the imbalance in the immune system underlying autoimmune disorders and chronic inflammatory conditions; PEG-CSF1, a polyethylene glycol (PEG) modified hematopoietic colony stimulating factor protein that is engineered to selectively modulate resolution processes of inflammation and has applications in a number of therapeutic indications, including acute and chronic inflammation; Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor type II (TNFR2) agonist asset is a bivalent antibody molecule used to selectively stimulate TNFR2 receptor activity, without modulation of the TNFR1 signaling; and NKTR-255, an IL-15 receptor agonist designed to boost the immune system’s natural ability to fight cancer. It has collaboration agreements with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd.; AstraZeneca AB; UCB Pharma; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd; Bausch Health Companies Inc.; Pfizer Inc.; UCB Pharma (Biogen); Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Merck KGaA; and SFJ Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

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, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Ohtuvayre for respiratory disease; 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; LYTENAVA to treat Opthamology; MEKINIST for cardiology; MINNEBRO for metabolic disease; 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, JZP341, 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; CE-furosemide for cardiology; CE-Meloxicam for neurology; V117, CX2101A, and Sitavig for infectious disease; REV-0100, OPT-302, and Reproxalap for opthamology; Vilazodone and Topiramate Injection for CNS; VK0214 for Rare Disease; and VK5211 for musculoskeletal disorder. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Jupiter, Florida.

Latest Pharmaceuticals and Nektar Therapeutics, Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated Stock News

As of February 18, 2026, Nektar Therapeutics had a $2.0 billion market capitalization, compared to the Pharmaceuticals median of $482.7 million. Nektar Therapeutics’s stock is up 73.1% in 2026, up 30.7% in the previous five trading days and up 396.51% in the past year.

Currently, Nektar Therapeutics does not have a price-earnings ratio. Nektar Therapeutics’s trailing 12-month revenue is $62.6 million with a -192.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -51.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $-9.780 per share for the current fiscal year. Nektar Therapeutics does not currently pay a dividend.

As of February 18, 2026, Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated had a $3.7 billion market cap, putting it in the 63rd percentile of all stocks. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated’s stock is up 0.5% in 2026, up 1.6% in the previous five trading days and up 58.28% in the past year.

Currently, Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated’s price-earnings ratio is 76.3. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated’s trailing 12-month revenue is $251.2 million with a 19.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 123.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $7.580 per share for the current fiscal year. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Nektar Therapeutics and Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated 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 Nektar Therapeutics and Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Nektar Therapeutics and Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Nektar Therapeutics	NKTR	F
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated	LGND	F

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.

Nektar Therapeutics has a Value Score of 1, which is Ultra Expensive. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a Value Score of 4, which is Ultra Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Nektar Therapeutics or Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Nektar Therapeutics or Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is the better investment when it comes to value.

Nektar Therapeutics and Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Nektar Therapeutics	NKTR	A
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated	LGND	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%.

Nektar Therapeutics has a Momentum Score of 98, which is Very Strong. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a Momentum Score of 69, which is Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Nektar Therapeutics

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, Nektar Therapeutics is considered to have stronger momentum compared to Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, Nektar Therapeutics 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.

Nektar Therapeutics and Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Nektar Therapeutics	NKTR	C
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated	LGND	C

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

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Nektar Therapeutics has a Earnings Estimate Score of 41, which is Neutral. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a Earnings Estimate Score of 51, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Nektar Therapeutics or Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Nektar Therapeutics or Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

Other Nektar Therapeutics and Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated Grades

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

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.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite 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 F-Score.

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 Nektar Therapeutics and Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Nektar Therapeutics or Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated Stock?

Overall, Nektar Therapeutics stock has a Value Score of 1, Momentum Score of 98 and Estimate Revisions Score of 41.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated stock has a Value Score of 4, Momentum Score of 69 and Estimate Revisions Score of 51.

Comparing Nektar Therapeutics and Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated’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.