Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB) gapped up before the market opened 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Zai Lab Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.46 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.25.

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

Insider Activity at Zai Lab

In related news, insider Rafael Amado sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.41, for a total transaction of $115,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,834 shares in the company, valued at $1,184,333.94. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ying Du sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.44, for a total transaction of $1,622,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 494,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,029,155.48. This represents a 9.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 125,127 shares of company stock valued at $4,139,672 over the last quarter. 13.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ZLAB. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zai Lab by 34.2% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,760,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,232,507 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Zai Lab by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,436,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,660,000 after buying an additional 1,312,115 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zai Lab by 749.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,475,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,403,000 after buying an additional 4,830,646 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP purchased a new position in Zai Lab in the fourth quarter worth $65,714,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Zai Lab by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,354,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,653,000 after acquiring an additional 548,378 shares during the period. 41.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.