Weiss Ratings Reaffirms Sell (D-) Rating for Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a sell (D-) rating for Zai Lab (NASDAQ: ZLAB), highlighting concerns over the company’s performance.
• Despite the negative rating from Weiss, Zai Lab has received several other ratings, including an "outperform" from Leerink Partners with a price target of $75.00 and a "buy" from Citigroup with a revised target of $69.00.
• Recently, Zai Lab's stock saw a 2.9% increase, trading at $33.84, although it remains significantly below its 52-week high of $44.34.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Leerink Partners set a $75.00 price target on Zai Lab and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $69.00 price target (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Zai Lab in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Zai Lab in a report on Monday, August 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Zai Lab from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Zai Lab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.35.

Zai Lab Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of ZLAB traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $33.84. The stock had a trading volume of 313,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 925,982. Zai Lab has a fifty-two week low of $23.82 and a fifty-two week high of $44.34. The company has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of -16.62 and a beta of 1.08. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $33.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.65.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.37). The business had revenue of $109.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $125.66 million. Zai Lab had a negative return on equity of 27.32% and a negative net margin of 49.68%. Zai Lab has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts expect that Zai Lab will post -2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Zai Lab

In related news, CFO Yajing Chen sold 4,096 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.01, for a total transaction of $139,304.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 16,908 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $575,041.08. This trade represents a 19.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joshua L. Smiley purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.91 per share, for a total transaction of $289,100.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 86,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,503,721.64. This trade represents a 13.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 161,562 shares of company stock valued at $5,650,256 over the last 90 days. 4.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zai Lab

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zai Lab in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,073,000. MPM Bioimpact LLC raised its position in shares of Zai Lab by 4.2% in the first quarter. MPM Bioimpact LLC now owns 833,659 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,128,000 after buying an additional 33,659 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Zai Lab in the first quarter valued at approximately $12,649,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Zai Lab by 29.0% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 93,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,384,000 after buying an additional 21,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Zai Lab by 214.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,771 shares of the company's stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 9,390 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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