Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Key Points

• Zai Lab shares opened higher, rising from a prior close of $25.62 to $26.80 before trading at $26.31.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive: the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $37.25, including Citigroup’s increased $45 target.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $106.31 million and a loss of $0.50 per share, while insiders have sold approximately $235,145 worth of shares over the past 90 days.

Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday. The stock had previously closed at $25.62, but opened at $26.80. Zai Lab shares last traded at $26.31, with a volume of 125,399 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZLAB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Zai Lab in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised Zai Lab from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Zai Lab from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Zai Lab from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Zai Lab from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.25.

Zai Lab Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of -15.11 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.27.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter. Zai Lab had a negative return on equity of 27.43% and a negative net margin of 41.86%.The business had revenue of $106.31 million during the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR will post -2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William Lis sold 8,506 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $212,650.00. Following the sale, the director owned 41,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,048,275. This represents a 16.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,385 shares of company stock worth $235,145. Insiders own 4.88% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zai Lab

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ZLAB. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Zai Lab in the second quarter valued at about $79,000. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Zai Lab by 74.7% in the second quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 136,016 shares of the company's stock worth $2,584,000 after acquiring an additional 58,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Zai Lab by 142.0% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 68,010 shares of the company's stock worth $1,292,000 after buying an additional 39,901 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.65% of the company's stock.

Zai Lab Company Profile

Zai Lab Ltd. NASDAQ: ZLAB is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases with significant unmet medical needs. The company's research and development activities span oncology, autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, infectious diseases, and neuroscience.

Founded in 2014 by Samantha Du, Zai Lab has built a portfolio through internal research as well as licensing and collaboration agreements with international pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

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