Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Legend Biotech Co. (NASDAQ:LEGN)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $34.67, but opened at $36.75. Legend Biotech shares last traded at $36.87, with a volume of 487,249 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Legend Biotech in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $86.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Monday, December 9th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Monday, December 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Legend Biotech currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.62.

Legend Biotech Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is $36.39 and its 200 day moving average is $45.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 4.90 and a current ratio of 4.98. The company has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a PE ratio of -39.67 and a beta of 0.16.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.56) by $0.22. Legend Biotech had a negative return on equity of 29.69% and a negative net margin of 66.92%. The company had revenue of $160.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $143.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. Legend Biotech’s revenue for the quarter was up 66.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Legend Biotech Co. will post -1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in Legend Biotech by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,330,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,232,000 after buying an additional 708,620 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 16.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,275,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,868,000 after purchasing an additional 314,449 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Legend Biotech in the second quarter worth about $13,487,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its holdings in Legend Biotech by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 5,038,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,526,000 after purchasing an additional 266,296 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Legend Biotech during the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,837,000. Institutional investors own 70.89% of the company’s stock.

About Legend Biotech

Legend Biotech Corporation, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of novel cell therapies for oncology and other indications in the United States, China, and internationally. Its lead product candidate, LCAR- B38M, is a chimeric antigen receptor for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM).