Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Given New $33.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan lowered Legend Biotech’s price target to $33 from $35 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, implying roughly 77% upside from the reported $18.64 closing price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: nine analysts rate the stock “Buy,” five rate it “Hold,” and one rates it “Sell,” producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $55.50.
• Legend Biotech recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.09 in earnings per share versus a $0.07 estimate and $387.5 million in revenue, up 51.9% year over year; institutional investors own approximately 70.89% of the company.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $35.00 to $33.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective points to a potential upside of 77.03% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on LEGN. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $65.00 target price on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Friday, September 4th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Legend Biotech from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Legend Biotech from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.50.

Legend Biotech Stock Performance

Shares of Legend Biotech stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $18.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,180,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,421,173. The company has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of -74.56 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.59. Legend Biotech has a 12-month low of $16.24 and a 12-month high of $37.50.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $387.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $355.96 million. Legend Biotech had a negative return on equity of 8.71% and a negative net margin of 7.21%.The firm's revenue was up 51.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Legend Biotech will post -0.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Legend Biotech news, CFO Carlos Santos sold 5,430 shares of Legend Biotech stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total value of $49,630.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 14,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at $130,208.44. The trade was a 27.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Corazon (Corsee) D. Sanders sold 27,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.46, for a total value of $258,920.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 52,731 shares in the company, valued at $498,835.26. This trade represents a 34.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Legend Biotech

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LEGN. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Legend Biotech by 343.6% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 406,901 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,361,000 after buying an additional 315,176 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Legend Biotech during the first quarter worth $4,039,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Legend Biotech by 29.5% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 521,800 shares of the company's stock worth $9,439,000 after buying an additional 119,000 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Legend Biotech during the second quarter valued at $2,369,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Legend Biotech by 60.4% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 769,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,216,000 after acquiring an additional 289,772 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.89% of the company's stock.

About Legend Biotech

Legend Biotech Corporation NASDAQ: LEGN is a biotechnology company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing cell therapies for cancer and other serious diseases. Its research centers on chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies, which use genetically modified immune cells to recognize and attack cancer cells.

The company's leading product is Carvykti (ciltacabtagene autoleucel), a B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed CAR-T therapy for certain adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

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