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

Shares of Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $29.71, but opened at $31.83. Zai Lab shares last traded at $31.81, with a volume of 131,830 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Zai Lab Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $33.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.32. The company has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.68 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Insider Activity

In other Zai Lab news, CFO Yajing Chen sold 924 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.11, for a total value of $30,593.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,047 shares in the company, valued at $895,526.17. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Rafael Amado sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.41, for a total value of $115,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,184,333.94. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 138,744 shares of company stock valued at $4,685,294. 13.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zai Lab

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

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.