Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Legend Biotech Co. (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $30.07, but opened at $31.00. Legend Biotech shares last traded at $28.43, with a volume of 758,851 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Legend Biotech from $88.00 to $71.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Legend Biotech from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.20.

Legend Biotech Trading Down 0.5%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.32. The company has a current ratio of 4.98, a quick ratio of 4.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of -30.43 and a beta of 0.20.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.33. Legend Biotech had a negative return on equity of 29.69% and a negative net margin of 66.92%. The business had revenue of $195.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $190.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.16) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 107.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Legend Biotech Co. will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Legend Biotech

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 21.1% in the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 6,917,567 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203,871 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Legend Biotech in the fourth quarter valued at about $113,767,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Legend Biotech by 44.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,309,971 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,365 shares in the last quarter. Braidwell LP boosted its holdings in Legend Biotech by 93.2% in the 4th quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 2,977,951 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,903,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Legend Biotech by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,270,264 shares of the company's stock worth $77,030,000 after purchasing an additional 6,708 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.89% of the company's stock.

About Legend Biotech

Legend Biotech Corporation, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of novel cell therapies for oncology and other indications in the United States, China, and internationally. Its lead product candidate, LCAR- B38M, is a chimeric antigen receptor for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM).