Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. Legend Biotech had a negative net margin of 21.98% and a negative return on equity of 24.92%. The company had revenue of $387.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $355.96 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. Legend Biotech’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Legend Biotech’s conference call:

• CARVYKTI net trade sales rose 50% year over year to approximately $657 million, with 10% sequential growth. Earlier-line use continued to expand, with second- through fourth-line treatment accounting for more than 70% of U.S. volume, while international sales grew 128% year over year.
• Legend reported its first quarter of company-wide profitability, including $63 million in adjusted net income, and maintained its outlook for adjusted net income profitability in the second half of 2026. The company ended the quarter with approximately $965 million in cash and no long-term debt.
• Early data for in vivo CAR-T candidate LB2501 showed a 100% objective response rate and an 83.3% complete response rate at the higher dose cohort, with CAR-T cells detectable for up to 116 days and no dose-limiting toxicities reported. Legend plans to file a U.S. IND by year-end and initially conduct the Phase I study itself.
• Gross margin improved to 58% in Q2 but is expected to decline to the lower-50% range in Q3 before recovering to the mid-50% range in Q4, partly due to changing outpatient treatment economics. Management also acknowledged potential competitive pressure from bispecific therapies, although it continues to emphasize CARVYKTI’s one-time treatment and durability advantages.
• Interim CEO Alan Bash characterized the CEO change as a leadership transition rather than a strategy shift, while the board continues a search for a permanent chief executive. Legend also disclosed plans to advance LB2505, an investigational BCMA-targeted in vivo CAR-T therapy in China, subject to the company’s collaboration agreement with Johnson & Johnson.

Legend Biotech Price Performance

Shares of LEGN stock traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.70. 876,108 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,490,348. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.14. Legend Biotech has a 1-year low of $16.24 and a 1-year high of $38.35. The firm has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a PE ratio of -31.81 and a beta of 0.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ying Huang sold 5,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $3,574,868.16. This trade represents a 2.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Legend Biotech

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEGN. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Legend Biotech in the 2nd quarter valued at about $411,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 77.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 148,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,277,000 after buying an additional 64,956 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 84,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,984,000 after buying an additional 11,771 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,560,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,386,000 after buying an additional 52,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Legend Biotech during the second quarter valued at about $15,790,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.89% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEGN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Legend Biotech from $63.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 27th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 target price (down from $49.00) on shares of Legend Biotech in a research report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Legend Biotech from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Legend Biotech has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.29.

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.