Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports. Legend Biotech had a negative return on equity of 21.93% and a negative net margin of 28.86%.The business had revenue of $305.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.07) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 56.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Legend Biotech’s conference call:

• CARVYKTI posted strong Q1 net trade sales of about $597 million, up 62% year over year and 8% sequentially, with growth coming from both the U.S. and international markets.
• Management said CARVYKTI adoption is moving earlier in the treatment course, with second- and third-line patients representing 41% of U.S. apheresis volume in Q1 versus 29% a year ago, and expects this mix shift to continue.
• The company said manufacturing execution remained strong, citing a 99% manufacturing success rate and roughly 29-day turnaround time, although Q1 gross margin fell to 41% due to ramp-up costs at expanded facilities. Management expects gross margin to return above 50% in Q2.
• Legend reiterated it expects company-wide adjusted profitability in 2026, and Q1 adjusted net loss narrowed to $11 million as revenue scaled and operating leverage improved.
• The pipeline is advancing, with in vivo CAR-T programs entering phase I, including LB2501 for CD19/CD20 in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and a BCMA program in autoimmune disease; the company expects to share initial lymphoma data around mid-year.

Legend Biotech Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of NASDAQ LEGN traded up $0.94 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.52. 2,711,898 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,353,859. Legend Biotech has a 52 week low of $16.24 and a 52 week high of $45.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of -33.15 and a beta of 0.29. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LEGN. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Legend Biotech from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. 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 lowered shares of Legend Biotech from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ying Huang sold 9,936 shares of Legend Biotech stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.77, for a total transaction of $87,138.72. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Legend Biotech

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEGN. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in Legend Biotech in the 2nd quarter worth $411,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in Legend Biotech by 77.6% in the 2nd 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 period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Legend Biotech by 16.3% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Legend Biotech by 3.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,560,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,386,000 after acquiring an additional 52,344 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Legend Biotech in the second quarter valued at about $15,790,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.89% of the company’s stock.

Legend Biotech Company Profile

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.