HC Wainwright Reaffirms "Buy" Rating for Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN)

Key Points

• HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "Buy" rating on Legend Biotech with a $50.00 price target, implying roughly a 99.44% upside from the prior close.
• Consensus across analysts stands at 11 Buys, 3 Holds and 1 Sell, equating to a "Moderate Buy" consensus and an average target price of $58.31.
• Snapshot: shares opened at $25.07 (52‑week range $16.24–$45.30) with a market cap of ~$4.64B; the company beat EPS estimates ($0.01 vs. -$0.17) and reported $306.3M in revenue (up 64.2% YoY) but still has a negative net margin and return on equity.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by research analysts at HC Wainwright in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright's target price would indicate a potential upside of 99.44% from the company's previous close.

LEGN has been the subject of several other reports. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $21.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Legend Biotech from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.31.

Legend Biotech Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LEGN opened at $25.07 on Tuesday. Legend Biotech has a 52-week low of $16.24 and a 52-week high of $45.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.66 and a 200 day moving average of $23.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of -31.34 and a beta of 0.08.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 64.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Legend Biotech will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Legend Biotech

In other Legend Biotech news, CEO Ying Huang sold 9,936 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.77, for a total transaction of $87,138.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 247,438 shares in the company, valued at $2,170,031.26. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Legend Biotech

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in Legend Biotech by 76.5% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 847 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Legend Biotech by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management boosted its position in Legend Biotech by 102.6% during the third quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 1,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Legend Biotech by 171.9% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the period. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. boosted its position in Legend Biotech by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 20,806 shares of the company's stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 863 shares during the period. 70.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Legend Biotech

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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