Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Trading 6.3% Higher - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• 6.3% jump to $21.82 on Thursday on thin volume (340,553 shares vs. a 2.18M average); market cap about $3.93B and the 50‑day/200‑day SMAs sit at $18.34 and $23.63 respectively.
• Analyst backdrop is mixed but tilted positive — consensus is a “Moderate Buy” (11 Buys, 3 Holds, 1 Sell) with an average target of $58.31; HC Wainwright reaffirmed a Buy with a $50 target and forecasts positive EPS by 2027 but trimmed near‑term estimates, while street consensus expects about -$1.31 for the current year.
• Fundamentals: the latest quarter delivered an EPS beat ($0.01 vs. -$0.17 est) and revenue of $306.3M (up 64.2% YoY) though slightly below revenue expectations; Legend is a commercial‑stage CAR‑T company (Carvykti) partnered with Janssen, with high institutional ownership (~70.9%) and modest insider selling.

Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) traded up 6.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $21.20 and last traded at $21.8180. 340,553 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 2,177,686 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.52.

Legend Biotech News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Legend Biotech this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "Buy" rating and set a $50 price target (implying substantial upside vs. current levels), highlighting continued analyst conviction in Legend's longer-term commercial and margin trajectory. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright's updated model forecasts positive EPS in several upcoming quarters (examples cited: Q1–Q4 2027 estimates ranging to $0.43 EPS), signaling expectations that Legend's revenue growth and operating leverage will produce profitable quarters over the next 12–18 months. MarketBeat LEGN
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary roundups and market writeups discussed Legend alongside peers, keeping broader investor attention on the company's clinical/commercial progress but not adding firm new catalysts. Globe & Mail
• Neutral Sentiment: Independent analyses of Legend were published by market sites, providing additional visibility but no new fundamental news beyond the HC Wainwright updates. AmericanBankingNews
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright trimmed near-term EPS estimates: Q2 2026 down to $0.03 (from $0.06) and Q3 2026 down to $0.07 (from $0.14), reflecting softer near-term margin or timing risk. The consensus full‑year outlook remains negative (around -$1.31), underlining continuing short-term losses. MarketBeat LEGN

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and set a $21.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial cut Legend Biotech from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Legend Biotech from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.31.

Legend Biotech Trading Up 3.6%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of -26.45 and a beta of 0.08.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.18. Legend Biotech had a negative return on equity of 21.93% and a negative net margin of 28.86%.The firm had revenue of $306.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $310.21 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 64.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ying Huang sold 9,936 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.77, for a total transaction of $87,138.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Legend Biotech

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LEGN. Suvretta Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Legend Biotech by 73.1% during the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 6,608,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,672,000 after buying an additional 2,790,620 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Legend Biotech by 120.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,174,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,274,000 after buying an additional 1,188,449 shares during the period. Davern Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Legend Biotech during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,972,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Legend Biotech by 4,129.8% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 755,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,434,000 after buying an additional 738,081 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Legend Biotech in the second quarter worth $15,790,000. 70.89% of the stock is 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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