Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Legend Biotech shares fell sharply: The stock opened at $21.33 versus its prior close of $24.29 and was recently trading near $21.25.
• Analyst views are mixed but lean positive: Nine analysts rate the stock Buy, five Hold and one Sell, for an overall “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $54.69. Recent target cuts included Oppenheimer’s reduction to $40 and TD Cowen’s to $24.
• Latest reported results beat estimates: Legend reported quarterly EPS of $0.09 against a $0.07 consensus and revenue of $387.5 million versus expectations of $356.0 million; revenue rose 51.9% year over year.

Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday. The stock had previously closed at $24.29, but opened at $21.33. Legend Biotech shares last traded at $21.2470, with a volume of 952,578 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LEGN shares. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Legend Biotech from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Monday, September 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $65.00 target price on Legend Biotech in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on Legend Biotech from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Legend Biotech from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Legend Biotech has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.69.

Legend Biotech Stock Down 13.6%

The firm has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -83.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company's 50-day moving average price is $19.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.12.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $387.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $355.96 million. Legend Biotech had a negative net margin of 7.21% and a negative return on equity of 8.71%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 51.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Legend Biotech

In other news, Director Corazon (Corsee) D. Sanders sold 27,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.46, for a total value of $258,920.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 52,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $498,835.26. This trade represents a 34.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Carlos E. Santos sold 5,430 shares of Legend Biotech stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total value of $49,630.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 14,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $130,208.44. This trade represents a 27.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Legend Biotech

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LEGN. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Legend Biotech in the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,307,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in Legend Biotech by 60.4% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 769,252 shares of the company's stock worth $22,216,000 after acquiring an additional 289,772 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Legend Biotech by 29.5% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 521,800 shares of the company's stock worth $9,439,000 after acquiring an additional 119,000 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in Legend Biotech by 79.6% during the 1st quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 470,292 shares of the company's stock worth $8,508,000 after acquiring an additional 208,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Legend Biotech by 343.6% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 406,901 shares of the company's stock worth $7,361,000 after acquiring an additional 315,176 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.89% of the company's stock.

Legend Biotech Company Profile

Legend Biotech is a biotechnology company focused on developing cell therapies for cancer, with an emphasis on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell treatments. Founded in 2014, the company is headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey, and conducts research and development activities in the United States and China.

Its lead product is CARVYKTI (ciltacabtagene autoleucel), a BCMA-directed CAR-T therapy for certain adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Legend developed the therapy with Janssen, now part of Johnson & Johnson's Innovative Medicine business, which collaborates on its commercialization.

Legend's pipeline includes additional investigational cell therapies for cancer.

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