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

Shares of Legend Biotech Corporation Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:LEGN) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $18.12, but opened at $21.07. Legend Biotech shares last traded at $20.8340, with a volume of 1,848,142 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEGN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Legend Biotech from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Legend Biotech from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.08.

Legend Biotech Stock Up 5.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.33 and a beta of 0.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.80.

Institutional Trading of Legend Biotech

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Suvretta Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 73.1% in the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 6,608,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,672,000 after acquiring an additional 2,790,620 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in Legend Biotech by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 6,164,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,020,000 after purchasing an additional 70,191 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in Legend Biotech by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,547,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,089,000 after purchasing an additional 425,684 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Legend Biotech by 120.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,174,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 4.6% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,632,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,251,000 after purchasing an additional 72,371 shares during the last quarter. 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.