News Flash: Analysts Just Made A Notable Upgrade To Their Legend Biotech Corporation (NASDAQ:LEGN) Forecasts

Legend Biotech Corporation (NASDAQ:LEGN) shareholders will have a reason to smile today, with the analysts making substantial upgrades to this year's statutory forecasts. The consensus statutory numbers for both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) increased, with their view clearly much more bullish on the company's business prospects. The stock price has risen 7.7% to US$46.00 over the past week, suggesting investors are becoming more optimistic. Whether the upgrade is enough to drive the stock price higher is yet to be seen, however.

After the upgrade, the five analysts covering Legend Biotech are now predicting revenues of US$160m in 2022. If met, this would reflect a huge 34% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Losses are predicted to fall substantially, shrinking 47% to US$1.20. However, before this estimates update, the consensus had been expecting revenues of US$141m and US$1.93 per share in losses. We can see there's definitely been a change in sentiment in this update, with the analysts administering a sizeable upgrade to this year's revenue estimates, while at the same time reducing their loss estimates.

View our latest analysis for Legend Biotech

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. The period to the end of 2022 brings more of the same, according to the analysts, with revenue forecast to display 48% growth on an annualised basis. That is in line with its 50% annual growth over the past year. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to see their revenues grow 13% per year. So it's pretty clear that Legend Biotech is forecast to grow substantially faster than its industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing here is that analysts reduced their loss per share estimates for this year, reflecting increased optimism around Legend Biotech's prospects. They also upgraded their revenue estimates for this year, and sales are expected to grow faster than the wider market. With a serious upgrade to expectations, it might be time to take another look at Legend Biotech.

It's great to see the analysts upgrading their estimates, but the biggest highlight to us is that the business is expected to become profitable in the foreseeable future. For more information, you can click through to our free platform to learn more about these forecasts.

Of course, seeing company management invest large sums of money in a stock can be just as useful as knowing whether analysts are upgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks that insiders are buying.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.