Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Legend Biotech “Moderate Buy”: Nine of 16 analysts recommend buying, six say hold, and one says sell; the average 12-month price target is $50.85.
• Several firms recently cut their price targets, including Oppenheimer ($40 to $25) and Morgan Stanley ($49 to $43), though Morgan Stanley retained an overweight rating.
• Legend reported quarterly EPS of $0.14, above the $0.01 consensus estimate, while revenue of $359.5 million came in slightly below expectations and rose 32% year over year.

Shares of Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.85.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LEGN. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Legend Biotech from $40.00 to $25.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Legend Biotech from $49.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Legend Biotech from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Monday, November 9th.

Insider Activity at Legend Biotech

In related news, Director Corazon (Corsee) D. Sanders sold 27,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.46, for a total value of $258,920.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 52,731 shares in the company, valued at $498,835.26. The trade was a 34.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Carlos E. Santos sold 5,430 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The stock was 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Legend Biotech

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Legend Biotech during the 3rd quarter worth about $937,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Legend Biotech by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 26,789 shares of the company's stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Legend Biotech by 484.1% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 68,698 shares of the company's stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 56,936 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Legend Biotech by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 177,268 shares of the company's stock worth $3,526,000 after buying an additional 3,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Legend Biotech during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $136,000. 70.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Legend Biotech Price Performance

NASDAQ:LEGN traded down $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $17.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,029,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,468,718. Legend Biotech has a fifty-two week low of $16.24 and a fifty-two week high of $37.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,748.25 and a beta of 0.55. The firm's 50 day moving average is $19.57 and its 200-day moving average is $22.12.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 10th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $359.50 million during 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.05) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Legend Biotech will post -0.02 EPS for the current year.

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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