Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Stock Jumps 4.5% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN) were up 4.5% on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $18.70 and last traded at $18.6870. Approximately 188,369 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 2,412,927 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Legend Biotech from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Legend Biotech from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Barclays cut their target price on Legend Biotech from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Legend Biotech currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.07.

Legend Biotech Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.64.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) last issued 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. Legend Biotech had a negative net margin of 7.21% and a negative return on equity of 8.71%. The business had revenue of $387.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $355.96 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 51.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR will post -0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Legend Biotech

In other Legend Biotech news, Director Corazon (Corsee) D. Sanders sold 27,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.46, for a total transaction of $258,920.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 52,731 shares in the company, valued at $498,835.26. This represents a 34.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Carlos Santos sold 5,430 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 14,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,208.44. This trade represents a 27.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Legend Biotech

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Legend Biotech by 343.6% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 406,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,361,000 after purchasing an additional 315,176 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Legend Biotech in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,039,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Legend Biotech in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,369,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Legend Biotech by 29.5% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 521,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,439,000 after buying an additional 119,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Legend Biotech by 34.0% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 240,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,945,000 after buying an additional 61,023 shares in the last quarter. 70.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Legend Biotech Company Profile

Legend Biotech Corporation (NASDAQ: LEGN) is a biotechnology company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing cell therapies for cancer and other serious diseases. Its research centers on chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies, which use genetically modified immune cells to recognize and attack cancer cells.

The company’s leading product is Carvykti (ciltacabtagene autoleucel), a B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed CAR-T therapy for certain adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.