Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Trading Down 6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Legend Biotech shares fell 6% in mid-day trading, with the stock dropping as low as $23.64 before last trading around $24.13. Volume was lighter than usual, at about 1.18 million shares versus a 2.43 million average.
• Recent analyst action was mixed, but the overall view remains positive: the stock has 10 Buy ratings, 4 Hold ratings, and 1 Sell rating, with a consensus target price of $57.00. Individual target changes included HC Wainwright raising its target to $65 and TD Cowen setting a $29 target with a Hold rating.
• The company’s latest earnings showed revenue growth of 56.5% year over year to $305.1 million, but EPS missed expectations by a penny at -$0.03. Insider and institutional activity remained notable, with CEO Ying Huang selling shares and institutions owning about 70.89% of the stock.

Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $23.64 and last traded at $24.1280. 1,179,142 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 2,429,631 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEGN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Legend Biotech from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Legend Biotech from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Legend Biotech from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered Legend Biotech from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Legend Biotech to $29.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Legend Biotech Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.63 and a beta of 0.34.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $305.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.51 million. Legend Biotech had a negative net margin of 21.98% and a negative return on equity of 24.92%. The company's revenue was up 56.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.07) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ying Huang sold 5,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.78, for a total value of $82,265.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 241,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,574,868.16. This represents a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Legend Biotech by 6,774.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 371,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,081,000 after purchasing an additional 366,321 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 42.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 220,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,174,000 after purchasing an additional 65,500 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Legend Biotech in the 1st quarter valued at $4,039,000. Casdin Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Legend Biotech during the 4th quarter worth $4,674,000. Finally, Eagle Health Investments LP acquired a new stake in Legend Biotech in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,884,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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