Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Cut to “In-Line” at Evercore

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Evercore from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Briefing.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on LEGN. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Friday, October 30th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Monday, September 28th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Legend Biotech from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Legend Biotech from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.85.

Legend Biotech Stock Performance

LEGN traded down $0.74 on Friday, reaching $17.80. The company had a trading volume of 2,005,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,427,270. Legend Biotech has a fifty-two week low of $16.24 and a fifty-two week high of $37.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,776.72 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s fifty day moving average is $19.66 and its 200 day moving average is $22.12.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 10th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.13. Legend Biotech had a negative return on equity of 0.03% and a negative net margin of 0.02%. The company had revenue of $359.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.05) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Legend Biotech will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Carlos E. Santos sold 5,430 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total transaction of $49,630.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,208.44. This represents a 27.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Corazon (Corsee) D. Sanders sold 27,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.46, for a total value of $258,920.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 52,731 shares in the company, valued at $498,835.26. The trade was a 34.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Legend Biotech

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Legend Biotech in the 3rd quarter valued at $937,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 26,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Legend Biotech by 484.1% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 68,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 56,936 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Legend Biotech by 2.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 177,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,526,000 after acquiring an additional 3,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Legend Biotech during the third quarter worth about $136,000. Institutional investors own 70.89% of the company’s stock.

About Legend Biotech

Legend Biotech is a biotechnology company focused on developing cell therapies for cancer, with an emphasis on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell treatments. Founded in 2014, the company is headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey, and conducts research and development activities in the United States and China. Its lead product is CARVYKTI (ciltacabtagene autoleucel), a BCMA-directed CAR-T therapy for certain adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Legend developed the therapy with Janssen, now part of Johnson & Johnson’s Innovative Medicine business, which collaborates on its commercialization.