Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Here's Why

Key Points

• Trading spike: Shares rose to $29.44 during mid-day after volume jumped 17% to 2,673,607 shares versus 2,279,340 the prior session.
• Wall Street consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a mean price target of $58.31 (11 Buys, 3 Holds, 1 Sell), though individual targets range from $21 to $69.
• Legend beat EPS estimates (reported $0.01 vs. consensus -$0.17) and grew revenue 64.2% year-over-year to $306.3M, while institutional investors own about 70.9% of the stock and several hedge funds materially increased positions.

Shares of Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 2,673,607 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 17% from the previous session's volume of 2,279,340 shares.The stock last traded at $29.4410 and had previously closed at $26.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LEGN shares. Truist Financial lowered shares of Legend Biotech from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $21.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.31.

Legend Biotech Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.51 and a beta of 0.29. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $19.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.90.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $306.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $310.21 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.07 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 64.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 247,438 shares in the company, valued at $2,170,031.26. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Legend Biotech

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Suvretta Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Legend Biotech by 73.1% during the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 6,608,629 shares of the company's stock worth $143,672,000 after purchasing an additional 2,790,620 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 6,164,677 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,020,000 after buying an additional 70,191 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in Legend Biotech by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,547,952 shares of the company's stock worth $83,089,000 after acquiring an additional 425,684 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Legend Biotech by 120.5% during the 4th 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. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Legend Biotech by 4.6% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,632,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,251,000 after acquiring an additional 72,371 shares during the last quarter. 70.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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