Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Shares Down 6% – Here’s Why

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on LEGN shares. 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Legend Biotech from $31.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Legend Biotech to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Truist Financial lowered shares of Legend Biotech from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Legend Biotech from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Legend Biotech presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Legend Biotech Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.33. The firm has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.63 and a beta of 0.34.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $305.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.51 million. Legend Biotech had a negative return on equity of 24.92% and a negative net margin of 21.98%.Legend Biotech’s revenue was up 56.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.07) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Legend Biotech

In related news, CEO Ying Huang sold 5,566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.78, for a total transaction of $82,265.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 241,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,574,868.16. The trade was a 2.25% 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. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LEGN. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Legend Biotech during the second quarter valued at approximately $55,307,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Legend Biotech in the second quarter valued at about $235,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Legend Biotech by 173.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323 shares during the last quarter. Avidity Partners Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Legend Biotech during the first quarter worth about $271,000. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Legend Biotech in the first quarter worth about $362,000. 70.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.