Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 17,773,269 shares, a growth of 23.3% from the December 15th total of 14,410,603 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,695,457 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.5 days. Approximately 9.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Approximately 9.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,695,457 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.5 days.

Legend Biotech Stock Performance

LEGN stock opened at $22.14 on Monday. Legend Biotech has a one year low of $20.21 and a one year high of $45.30. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.06 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 2.80 and a current ratio of 2.86. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.77.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.02. Legend Biotech had a negative net margin of 26.37% and a negative return on equity of 24.47%. The firm had revenue of $272.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $277.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.34) EPS. Legend Biotech’s revenue was up 70.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Legend Biotech will post -1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Legend Biotech

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LEGN. Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Legend Biotech by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 29,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 11,456 shares in the last quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in shares of Legend Biotech by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 12,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 4,141 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA purchased a new position in Legend Biotech in the 4th quarter worth $315,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Legend Biotech by 6,774.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 371,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,081,000 after acquiring an additional 366,321 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Legend Biotech by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 73,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 10,370 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEGN has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Legend Biotech from $83.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Monday, December 8th. Johnson Rice set a $60.00 price target on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Legend Biotech from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.80.

Legend Biotech Company Profile

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.