Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after HC Wainwright lowered their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $50.00. The stock had previously closed at $20.76, but opened at $20.08. HC Wainwright currently has a buy rating on the stock. Legend Biotech shares last traded at $19.9240, with a volume of 1,686,731 shares changing hands.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on LEGN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Thursday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Legend Biotech from $94.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Legend Biotech from $83.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Legend Biotech currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Legend Biotech

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Legend Biotech during the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Legend Biotech by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 30,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 5,996 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in Legend Biotech by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 29,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $647,000 after purchasing an additional 11,456 shares in the last quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC lifted its position in shares of Legend Biotech by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 12,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 4,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Pictet & Cie SA bought a new stake in shares of Legend Biotech in the 4th quarter valued at about $315,000. Institutional investors own 70.89% of the company’s stock.

Legend Biotech Stock Down 1.7%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $23.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.32. 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 market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.25 and a beta of 0.12.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $272.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $277.91 million. Legend Biotech had a negative net margin of 26.37% and a negative return on equity of 24.47%. Legend Biotech’s revenue was up 70.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.34) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.