Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Moderate Buy consensus from 15 analysts (11 buys, 3 holds, 1 sell) with an average 12‑month target price of $58.31.
• Legend beat EPS estimates (reported $0.01 vs. -$0.17 expected) and revenue rose 64.2% YoY to $306.3M (slightly below estimates), but the company remains unprofitable with a -28.86% net margin and negative ROE.
• CEO Ying Huang sold 9,936 shares at $8.77, insiders own just 0.02% while institutional investors hold 70.89% of the stock; LEGN trades around $23.56 with a ~$4.36B market cap.

Shares of Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $58.3077.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded shares of Legend Biotech from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Legend Biotech from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Legend Biotech from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Tuesday, April 21st.

Insider Activity

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 value of $87,138.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 247,438 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,170,031.26. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Legend Biotech

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 76.5% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 847 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 171.9% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Legend Biotech in the second quarter valued at about $78,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Legend Biotech in the third quarter valued at about $104,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 1,730.3% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 3,374 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.89% of the company's stock.

Legend Biotech Trading Down 0.4%

LEGN stock opened at $23.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.45 and a beta of 0.08. Legend Biotech has a 52 week low of $16.24 and a 52 week high of $45.30. The company's 50-day moving average price is $19.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.03.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $306.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.21 million. Legend Biotech had a negative net margin of 28.86% and a negative return on equity of 21.93%. The firm's revenue was up 64.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Legend Biotech will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.