Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $33.91, but opened at $35.04. Zai Lab shares last traded at $35.99, with a volume of 146,411 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Zai Lab Trading Up 3.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of -13.46 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.76 and its 200 day moving average is $28.25.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.61) by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $109.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.15 million. Zai Lab had a negative net margin of 76.14% and a negative return on equity of 36.97%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Zai Lab Limited will post -2.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Zai Lab news, CEO Ying Du sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.47, for a total transaction of $1,723,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 494,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,032,212.99. This trade represents a 9.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rafael Amado sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.41, for a total value of $115,230.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 125,127 shares of company stock valued at $4,139,672. Corporate insiders own 13.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Zai Lab in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA acquired a new stake in Zai Lab during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in Zai Lab by 337.6% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 2,856 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Zai Lab by 1,671.9% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 5,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Zai Lab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Institutional investors own 41.65% of the company’s stock.

About Zai Lab

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.