Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Trading 7.6% Higher – Here’s Why

Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN) rose 7.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $27.59 and last traded at $27.53. Approximately 3,299,094 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 40% from the average daily volume of 2,360,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LEGN. TD Cowen upped their target price on Legend Biotech to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Legend Biotech from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Legend Biotech from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded shares of Legend Biotech from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.00.

Legend Biotech Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.06 and a beta of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.65.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.01). Legend Biotech had a negative return on equity of 24.92% and a negative net margin of 21.98%.The firm had revenue of $305.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.07) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 56.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Legend Biotech

In other news, CEO Ying Huang sold 9,936 shares of Legend Biotech stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.77, for a total value of $87,138.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 247,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,170,031.26. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Legend Biotech

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 76.5% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position 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 period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Legend Biotech by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Legend Biotech by 171.9% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. increased its position in 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 worth $452,000 after buying an additional 863 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.89% of the company’s stock.

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.