Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Trading 5.8% Higher – Still a Buy?

Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN)’s stock price shot up 5.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $21.90 and last traded at $21.8380. 1,894,033 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 2,502,250 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Legend Biotech from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Legend Biotech from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.29.

Legend Biotech Stock Up 3.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -90.40 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.25.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $387.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $355.96 million. Legend Biotech had a negative return on equity of 8.71% and a negative net margin of 7.21%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR will post 0.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Legend Biotech

In related news, CEO Ying Huang sold 5,566 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 241,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,574,868.16. This represents a 2.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LEGN. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Legend Biotech in the 1st quarter valued at $4,039,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Legend Biotech by 343.6% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 406,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,361,000 after purchasing an additional 315,176 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Legend Biotech by 29.5% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 521,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,439,000 after purchasing an additional 119,000 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Legend Biotech during the 2nd quarter worth about $55,307,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of Legend Biotech by 79.6% in the 1st quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 470,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,508,000 after purchasing an additional 208,477 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.