BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Holdings in Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Free Report) by 1,439.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,755 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 18,472 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Zai Lab were worth $517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Zai Lab during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,172,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Zai Lab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,032,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its holdings in Zai Lab by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 232,293 shares of the company's stock worth $6,084,000 after acquiring an additional 69,740 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Zai Lab by 749.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,475,505 shares of the company's stock worth $143,403,000 after buying an additional 4,830,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zai Lab in the 4th quarter valued at $511,000. Institutional investors own 41.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ZLAB. 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 set a $36.10 price target (up from $29.00) on shares of Zai Lab in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. 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. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Zai Lab in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company.

Zai Lab Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Zai Lab stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $31.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,832,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 870,857. Zai Lab Limited has a 1-year low of $16.01 and a 1-year high of $39.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.74. The company has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.20 and a beta of 1.04.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $106.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $118.40 million. Zai Lab had a negative return on equity of 36.97% and a negative net margin of 76.14%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Zai Lab Limited will post -2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Frazor Titus Edmondson III sold 14,544 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.98, for a total value of $479,661.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at $472,537.44. This represents a 50.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Rafael Amado sold 3,000 shares of Zai Lab stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 30,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,184,333.94. This represents a 8.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 235,133 shares of company stock worth $7,416,861 over the last 90 days. 4.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.