Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ZLAB. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued 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. boosted their target price on Zai Lab from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Zai Lab in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Zai Lab in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.37.

Zai Lab Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ZLAB traded down $1.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $34.74. 759,523 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 907,643. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $33.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.07. The company has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of -13.95 and a beta of 0.96. Zai Lab has a twelve month low of $16.01 and a twelve month high of $44.34.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.45) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.05. Zai Lab had a negative net margin of 60.26% and a negative return on equity of 33.35%. The company had revenue of $106.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $118.40 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Zai Lab will post -2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zai Lab news, CEO Ying Du sold 5,808 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total transaction of $208,449.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 476,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,085,290.94. This trade represents a 1.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Yajing Chen sold 5,280 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total value of $189,499.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $914,154.19. The trade was a 17.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 167,365 shares of company stock valued at $5,209,564. Insiders own 4.96% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zai Lab

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 4,830,646 shares in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP acquired a new stake in Zai Lab in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,714,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Zai Lab by 46,222.0% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,132,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,058,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127,598 shares in the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Zai Lab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,917,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Zai Lab by 63.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,884,810 shares of the company's stock worth $104,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121,856 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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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