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

Key Points

• Legend Biotech has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, based on coverage from 15 analysts: 11 rate it a buy, three a hold, and one a sell. The average 12-month price target is about $60.15.
• The company’s most recent quarterly results showed revenue growth of 56.5% year over year to $305.1 million, but earnings came in slightly below expectations at -$0.03 per share. Analysts currently expect the company to post -$0.01 EPS for the full year.
• Insider and institutional activity has been notable: CEO Ying Huang sold 5,566 shares, while hedge funds and other institutions continue to hold a large majority of the stock, owning 70.89% of shares outstanding.

Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.1538.

Several brokerages have weighed in on LEGN. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Legend Biotech from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Legend Biotech from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Legend Biotech from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Legend Biotech to $29.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Legend Biotech from $31.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd.

Insider Activity at Legend Biotech

In related news, CEO Ying Huang sold 5,566 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.78, for a total value of $82,265.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 241,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,574,868.16. This trade represents a 2.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LEGN. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Legend Biotech during the second quarter worth $411,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Legend Biotech by 77.6% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 148,681 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,277,000 after acquiring an additional 64,956 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Legend Biotech by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 84,081 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,984,000 after acquiring an additional 11,771 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Legend Biotech by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,560,596 shares of the company's stock worth $55,386,000 after acquiring an additional 52,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Legend Biotech in the 2nd quarter worth $15,790,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.89% of the company's stock.

Legend Biotech Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LEGN opened at $27.08 on Monday. Legend Biotech has a 12-month low of $16.24 and a 12-month high of $45.30. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $29.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.29. The company has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of -39.82 and a beta of 0.34.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.01). Legend Biotech had a negative net margin of 21.98% and a negative return on equity of 24.92%. The company had revenue of $305.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $306.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.07) EPS. Legend Biotech's revenue for the quarter was up 56.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Legend Biotech will post -0.01 EPS 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.

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