Legend Biotech's (LEGN) Buy Rating Reiterated at HC Wainwright

Key Points

• HC Wainwright reaffirmed its “Buy” rating on Legend Biotech and maintained a $65 price target, implying nearly 199% upside from the stock’s $21.75 price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed overall: eight analysts rate the shares Buy, six Hold, and one Sell, resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating and an average target price of $52.29.
• Legend Biotech exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.09 in earnings per share versus the $0.07 consensus and $387.5 million in revenue, up 51.9% year over year, though it remains unprofitable.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by HC Wainwright in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $65.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 198.85% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on LEGN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Legend Biotech in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Legend Biotech from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Legend Biotech from $59.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $28.00 target price (down from $49.00) on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.29.

Legend Biotech Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:LEGN opened at $21.75 on Friday. Legend Biotech has a 52-week low of $16.24 and a 52-week high of $37.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.54. The company has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -87.00 and a beta of 0.40.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $387.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $355.96 million. Legend Biotech had a negative net margin of 7.21% and a negative return on equity of 8.71%. The business's revenue was up 51.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Legend Biotech will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ying Huang sold 5,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.78, for a total transaction of $82,265.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 241,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,574,868.16. This represents a 2.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Legend Biotech

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEGN. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Legend Biotech during the second quarter worth $549,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in shares of Legend Biotech in the 2nd quarter worth about $436,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 2,750.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 337,434 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,745,000 after buying an additional 325,596 shares during the period. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of Legend Biotech in the 2nd quarter valued at about $162,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Legend Biotech during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,369,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.89% of the company's stock.

Legend Biotech Company Profile

Legend Biotech NASDAQ: LEGN is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development and commercialization of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies for oncology. Headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey, with research and development operations in Shanghai, the company leverages a global infrastructure to advance innovative cellular therapies. Legend Biotech pursues a strategy of strategic collaboration to extend its reach, most notably through its partnership with Janssen Biotech, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.

The company's lead asset, ciltacabtagene autoleucel (commercially marketed as Carvykti), is a B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)–directed CAR-T therapy for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

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