Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Shares Up 2.9% – What’s Next?

Shares of Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB) rose 2.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $38.70 and last traded at $37.19. Approximately 379,654 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 759,950 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.14.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Zai Lab in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Zai Lab from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Zai Lab in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $36.10 price objective (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Zai Lab in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Zai Lab Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of -13.55 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.46.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.61) by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $109.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.15 million. Zai Lab had a negative return on equity of 36.97% and a negative net margin of 76.14%. On average, research analysts forecast that Zai Lab Limited will post -2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Zai Lab

In related news, CEO Ying Du sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.47, for a total value of $1,723,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 494,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,032,212.99. This trade represents a 9.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Rafael Amado sold 3,000 shares of Zai Lab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.41, for a total transaction of $115,230.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,184,333.94. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 117,544 shares of company stock worth $3,940,391 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Zai Lab during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,172,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Zai Lab by 26.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 9,107 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Zai Lab by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 232,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,084,000 after purchasing an additional 69,740 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Zai Lab by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 183,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,801,000 after purchasing an additional 41,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zai Lab in the fourth quarter valued at $511,000. 41.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zai Lab Company Profile

Zai Lab Limited develops and commercializes therapies to treat oncology, autoimmune disorders, infectious diseases, and neuroscience. Its commercial products include Zejula, an orally administered poly polymerase 1/2 inhibitor; Optune, a cancer therapy that uses electric fields tuned to specific frequencies to kill tumor cells; NUZYRA for acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections, and community acquired bacterial pneumonia; Qinlock to treat gastrointestinal stromal tumors, and VYVGART, a human IgG1 antibody fragment for myesthenia gravis.