Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Stock Jumps 4.9% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Legend Biotech shares rose 4.9% to about $20.22 in midday trading, although volume was roughly 97% below the stock’s average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: nine analysts rate the stock a Buy, five a Hold, and one a Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $54.69.
• The company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $0.09 per share versus $0.07 expected and revenue of $387.5 million, up 51.9% year over year; however, Legend Biotech remains unprofitable overall.

Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 4.9% during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $19.39 and last traded at $20.2150. Approximately 79,566 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 97% from the average daily volume of 2,390,277 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LEGN shares. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $65.00 target price on Legend Biotech in a report on Friday, September 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered Legend Biotech from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Legend Biotech from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Legend Biotech has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.69.

Legend Biotech Stock Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $19.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of -82.58 and a beta of 0.57.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02. Legend Biotech had a negative net margin of 7.21% and a negative return on equity of 8.71%. The firm had revenue of $387.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $355.96 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 51.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Legend Biotech

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Legend Biotech by 39.0% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 17,526 shares of the company's stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 4,915 shares in the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new stake in Legend Biotech during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Legend Biotech by 34.0% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 240,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,945,000 after purchasing an additional 61,023 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Legend Biotech by 60.4% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 769,252 shares of the company's stock worth $22,216,000 after buying an additional 289,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Legend Biotech in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $162,000. Institutional investors own 70.89% of the company's stock.

Legend Biotech Company Profile

Legend Biotech Corporation NASDAQ: LEGN is a biotechnology company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing cell therapies for cancer and other serious diseases. The company's primary technology is chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, which genetically modifies a patient's immune cells to recognize and attack cancer cells.

Legend Biotech's leading product is CARVYKTI (ciltacabtagene autoleucel), a BCMA-directed CAR-T therapy for certain adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

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