Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LEGN. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Legend Biotech from $40.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Legend Biotech from $68.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Legend Biotech from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore cut shares of Legend Biotech from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.85.

Legend Biotech Price Performance

NASDAQ:LEGN traded down $1.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $17.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,029,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,468,718. The business’s fifty day moving average is $19.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,748.25 and a beta of 0.55. Legend Biotech has a 1 year low of $16.24 and a 1 year high of $37.50.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Legend Biotech news, CFO Carlos E. Santos sold 5,430 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total transaction of $49,630.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,208.44. This represents a 27.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Corazon (Corsee) D. Sanders sold 27,370 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 52,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $498,835.26. The trade was a 34.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LEGN. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in Legend Biotech in the 3rd quarter valued at about $937,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in 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. increased its stake in Legend Biotech by 484.1% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 68,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 56,936 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 2.1% during 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 shares of Legend Biotech during the third quarter valued at approximately $136,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.