Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Legend Biotech missed earnings expectations for the quarter, reporting a loss of $0.03 per share versus the $0.02 loss analysts expected, while revenue came in at $305.1 million, slightly below estimates but up 56.5% year over year.
• CARVYKTI remained the key growth driver, with Q1 net trade sales of about $597 million, up 62% from a year earlier and 8% sequentially, supported by stronger adoption in earlier lines of treatment.
• Management reiterated a path to profitability, saying it still expects company-wide adjusted profitability in 2026 as manufacturing stays efficient and the pipeline advances, including new in vivo CAR-T programs.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports. Legend Biotech had a negative return on equity of 21.93% and a negative net margin of 28.86%.The firm had revenue of $305.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.07) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 56.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Legend Biotech's conference call:

• CARVYKTI posted strong Q1 net trade sales of about $597 million, up 62% year over year and 8% sequentially, with growth coming from both the U.S. and international markets.
• Management said CARVYKTI adoption is moving earlier in the treatment course, with second- and third-line patients representing 41% of U.S. apheresis volume in Q1 versus 29% a year ago, and expects this mix shift to continue.
• The company said manufacturing execution remained strong, citing a 99% manufacturing success rate and roughly 29-day turnaround time, although Q1 gross margin fell to 41% due to ramp-up costs at expanded facilities. Management expects gross margin to return above 50% in Q2.
• Legend reiterated it expects company-wide adjusted profitability in 2026, and Q1 adjusted net loss narrowed to $11 million as revenue scaled and operating leverage improved.
• The pipeline is advancing, with in vivo CAR-T programs entering phase I, including LB2501 for CD19/CD20 in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and a BCMA program in autoimmune disease; the company expects to share initial lymphoma data around mid-year.

Legend Biotech Price Performance

Shares of LEGN traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,711,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,353,859. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.73. Legend Biotech has a twelve month low of $16.24 and a twelve month high of $45.30. The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.15 and a beta of 0.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on LEGN. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Legend Biotech from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Monday, February 23rd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $21.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Legend Biotech from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ying Huang sold 9,936 shares of Legend Biotech stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,170,031.26. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Legend Biotech

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 662 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Legend Biotech during the second quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Legend Biotech in the 3rd quarter valued at $104,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Legend Biotech by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Legend Biotech in the 3rd quarter valued at $183,000. Institutional investors own 70.89% of the company's stock.

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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