HC Wainwright Boosts Earnings Estimates for Legend Biotech

Key Points

• HC Wainwright raised its Q1 2026 EPS estimate for Legend to $0.00 (from -$0.04) and reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $50 price target, but also cut FY2026 and FY2027 EPS and trimmed several near‑term quarterly forecasts, creating a mixed near‑to‑mid‑term outlook.
• Legend beat Q4 EPS expectations with $0.01 (consensus -$0.17) and reported revenue up 64.2% year‑over‑year to $306.3 million, yet the company still posts negative net margin and ROE; shares trade near $21 while the average analyst target is $58.31.
• Institutional ownership is high at 70.89% with large recent buys by firms like Suvretta and Goldman, while CEO Ying Huang sold 9,936 shares (a 3.86% reduction), reflecting strong institutional accumulation alongside modest insider selling.

Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN - Free Report) - Research analysts at HC Wainwright increased their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Legend Biotech in a research report issued on Wednesday, April 15th. HC Wainwright analyst M. Kapoor now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $0.00 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of ($0.04). HC Wainwright has a "Buy" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Legend Biotech's current full-year earnings is ($1.31) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Legend Biotech's Q4 2026 earnings at $0.11 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $0.21 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $0.30 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $1.14 EPS.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.18. Legend Biotech had a negative net margin of 28.86% and a negative return on equity of 21.93%. The company had revenue of $306.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 64.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on LEGN. Truist Financial cut shares of Legend Biotech from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Legend Biotech from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Barclays cut their price target on Legend Biotech from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Legend Biotech from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.31.

Legend Biotech Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:LEGN opened at $21.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of -26.35 and a beta of 0.08. Legend Biotech has a twelve month low of $16.24 and a twelve month high of $45.30. The company's 50 day moving average is $18.42 and its 200 day moving average is $23.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Legend Biotech

In other news, CEO Ying Huang sold 9,936 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.77, for a total value of $87,138.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 247,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,170,031.26. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Legend Biotech

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Suvretta Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Legend Biotech by 73.1% in the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 6,608,629 shares of the company's stock worth $143,672,000 after acquiring an additional 2,790,620 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Legend Biotech by 120.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,174,535 shares of the company's stock worth $47,274,000 after acquiring an additional 1,188,449 shares in the last quarter. Davern Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in Legend Biotech in the fourth quarter worth $22,972,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 4,129.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 755,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,434,000 after acquiring an additional 738,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Legend Biotech in the second quarter valued at approximately $15,790,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.89% of the company's stock.

Key Legend Biotech News

Here are the key news stories impacting Legend Biotech this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "Buy" rating and a $50.00 price target on LEGN, signaling continued analyst confidence in the company's longer‑term upside. This bullish call supports demand for the shares. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright raised its Q1 2026 EPS estimate for LEGN to $0.00 from ($0.04), a small near‑term improvement to the outlook that can be read as marginally constructive for the next quarter.
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright published a slate of forward quarter estimates showing progressive quarterly EPS forecasts through 2027 (e.g., Q1‑Q4 2027 estimates), indicating a modeled path toward higher earnings in 2027 — useful context but dependent on execution.
• Neutral Sentiment: Press coverage summarized recent analyst commentary on LEGN; broader market readers may treat these pieces as background rather than immediate catalysts. Globe and Mail
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright cut FY2026 EPS to $0.21 (from $0.42) and slashed FY2027 EPS to $1.14 (from $2.28). Those sizable downward revisions reduce near‑to‑mid term profit expectations and likely put downward pressure on the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Several quarterly estimates were trimmed (Q2 2026 to $0.03 from $0.06; Q3 2026 to $0.07 from $0.14; Q4 2026 to $0.11 from $0.26), signaling slower near‑term growth than previously modeled — a negative catalyst for investors focused on upcoming quarters.

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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