HC Wainwright initiated coverage of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. with a Buy rating and 12 month price target of $146, saying Ligand is a profitable unique company that has royalty rights to over 140 potential medicines that its 85+ partners are funding the development. Analyst Carol Ann Werther said Ligand also has a proven track record of discovering NCEs and books royalties on nine products. A new chemical entity (NCE), according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is a drug that contains no active moiety that has been approved by the FDA.