Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Trading Up 4.8% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Legend Biotech shares rose 4.8% to about $20.83 in mid-day trading, although trading volume was 56% below the average daily level.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: eight analysts rate the stock Buy, six Hold, and one Sell, resulting in a consensus Hold rating and a $52.29 price target. Recent firms have lowered targets, including Oppenheimer and TD Cowen.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations, with adjusted EPS of $0.09 versus $0.07 expected and revenue of $387.5 million versus $356.0 million forecast. Revenue increased 51.9% year over year, though the company continues to report negative profitability metrics.

Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $20.86 and last traded at $20.83. 1,096,563 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 2,464,739 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEGN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Legend Biotech in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Legend Biotech from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Legend Biotech from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Legend Biotech from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.29.

Legend Biotech Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -83.32 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.48 and a 200-day moving average of $23.45.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 8.71% and a negative net margin of 7.21%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 51.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR will post -0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ying Huang sold 5,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.78, for a total transaction of $82,265.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 241,872 shares in the company, valued at $3,574,868.16. This represents a 2.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Legend Biotech

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Legend Biotech by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 10,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Legend Biotech by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Legend Biotech by 3.1% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,386 shares of the company's stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Legend Biotech by 171.9% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the period. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 20,806 shares of the company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. 70.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Legend Biotech

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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