A triantennary N-acetylgalactosamine (Tri-GalNAcβ) ligand presenting three β-GalNAc residues on a tris-based branched scaffold, with a free primary amine at the central tris position and the sugar hydroxyls acetate-protected (peracetate). Supplied as the trifluoroacetate (TFA) salt for improved handling and solubility. The primary amine can be coupled with N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) activated esters, carboxylic acids, and other amine-reactive groups to form stable amide bonds with the Tri-GalNAc ligand. This compound enables the construction of hepatocyte-targeted therapeutics and research tools that exploit the asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR; Ashwell-Morell receptor), which is highly expressed on liver hepatocytes and binds GalNAc-containing ligands with high affinity. The trivalent presentation of GalNAcβ residues engages multiple carbohydrate-recognition domains of ASGPR simultaneously, producing high-avidity binding that substantially exceeds the affinity of monovalent GalNAc ligands and closely mimics the geometry of clinically validated Tri-GalNAc targeting moieties used in approved GalNAc-siRNA therapeutics.