Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Trading 4.8% Higher – Still a Buy?

Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN) was up 4.8% on Monday . The company traded as high as $20.86 and last traded at $20.83. 1,096,563 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 2,464,739 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on LEGN shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Legend Biotech from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Legend Biotech in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. TD Cowen dropped 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 note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Legend Biotech presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.29.

Legend Biotech Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of -84.52 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $23.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.49.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.09 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 analyst estimates of $355.96 million. Legend Biotech had a negative return on equity of 8.71% and a negative net margin of 7.21%.Legend Biotech’s quarterly revenue was up 51.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR will post -0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Legend Biotech

In related news, CEO Ying Huang sold 5,566 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.78, for a total value of $82,265.48. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Legend Biotech

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LEGN. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in Legend Biotech in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $436,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 2,750.4% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 337,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,745,000 after purchasing an additional 325,596 shares during the period. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Legend Biotech during the second quarter valued at about $162,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Legend Biotech in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,369,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Legend Biotech in the 2nd quarter valued at $92,000. 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.