Empire Life Investments Inc. Boosts Stake in Legend Biotech Co. (NASDAQ:LEGN)

Empire Life Investments Inc. increased its stake in Legend Biotech Co. (NASDAQ:LEGN) by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 98,688 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,368 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Legend Biotech were worth $4,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in Legend Biotech by 0.9% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 164,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,231,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in Legend Biotech in the first quarter worth $199,000. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in Legend Biotech during the first quarter valued at about $843,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Legend Biotech by 9.0% during the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Legend Biotech by 8.7% in the first quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,158,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,980,000 after buying an additional 92,611 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Legend Biotech from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Legend Biotech from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Legend Biotech in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $86.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 target price on shares of Legend Biotech in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $82.08.

Legend Biotech Price Performance

Shares of LEGN stock opened at $44.36 on Friday. Legend Biotech Co. has a twelve month low of $38.60 and a twelve month high of $70.13. The company has a quick ratio of 4.78, a current ratio of 4.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $49.03 and its 200 day moving average is $48.63. The stock has a market cap of $8.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -56.87 and a beta of 0.11.

Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.54) by $0.49. Legend Biotech had a negative return on equity of 23.20% and a negative net margin of 62.50%. The company had revenue of $186.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.27) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 154.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Legend Biotech Co. will post -1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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).