Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $57.00.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LEGN shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Legend Biotech from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Legend Biotech from $31.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Legend Biotech to $29.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Legend Biotech from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th.

Insider Activity at Legend Biotech

In related news, CEO Ying Huang sold 5,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,574,868.16. This trade represents a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Legend Biotech

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LEGN. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Legend Biotech during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $411,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Legend Biotech by 77.6% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 148,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,277,000 after purchasing an additional 64,956 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Legend Biotech by 16.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 84,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,984,000 after purchasing an additional 11,771 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Legend Biotech by 3.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,560,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,386,000 after purchasing an additional 52,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Legend Biotech during the 2nd quarter valued at $15,790,000. 70.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Legend Biotech Stock Performance

Shares of Legend Biotech stock opened at $22.26 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.73 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.33. Legend Biotech has a one year low of $16.24 and a one year high of $45.30.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.03) 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 the consensus estimate of $306.51 million. Legend Biotech had a negative net margin of 21.98% and a negative return on equity of 24.92%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.07) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 56.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Legend Biotech will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.