Wall Street Zen Upgrades Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Legend Biotech from “hold” to “buy.” Across analysts, the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $50.85.
• Legend Biotech reported quarterly EPS of $0.14, beating the $0.01 consensus estimate, while revenue of $359.5 million fell slightly short of expectations but rose 32% year over year.
• Shares opened at $17.50, near the stock’s one-year low of $16.24; analysts’ price targets varied, including recent cuts by Barclays and JPMorgan.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Friday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays lowered their target price on Legend Biotech from $68.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Legend Biotech from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.85.

Legend Biotech Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LEGN opened at $17.50 on Friday. Legend Biotech has a one year low of $16.24 and a one year high of $37.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.12.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 10th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $359.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $361.46 million. Legend Biotech had a negative net margin of 0.02% and a negative return on equity of 0.03%. The company's revenue was up 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.05) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Legend Biotech will post -0.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Legend Biotech

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LEGN. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Legend Biotech in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,369,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Legend Biotech by 343.6% in the first 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. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Legend Biotech by 29.5% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 521,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,439,000 after buying an additional 119,000 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Legend Biotech by 34.0% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 240,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,945,000 after buying an additional 61,023 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of Legend Biotech by 60.4% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 769,252 shares of the company's stock worth $22,216,000 after acquiring an additional 289,772 shares during the last quarter. 70.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Legend Biotech

Legend Biotech is a biotechnology company focused on developing cell therapies for cancer, with an emphasis on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell treatments. Founded in 2014, the company is headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey, and conducts research and development activities in the United States and China. Its lead product is CARVYKTI (ciltacabtagene autoleucel), a BCMA-directed CAR-T therapy for certain adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Legend developed the therapy with Janssen, now part of Johnson & Johnson's Innovative Medicine business, which collaborates on its commercialization.

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