Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Zai Lab saw unusually high trading volume, with 553,897 shares changing hands, while the stock fell about 3% to $20.12.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive overall: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average target price of $40.00, though some firms recently lowered or downgraded their views.
• The company continues to post losses, reporting negative earnings and a negative net margin, while insiders have also been selling shares in recent months.

Shares of Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . 553,897 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the previous session's volume of 814,806 shares.The stock last traded at $20.12 and had previously closed at $20.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ZLAB. Wall Street Zen lowered Zai Lab from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Zai Lab from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Zai Lab from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Zai Lab from $39.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Zai Lab from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $40.00.

Zai Lab Stock Down 3.0%

The company has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of -12.25 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.07.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter. Zai Lab had a negative net margin of 39.29% and a negative return on equity of 24.32%. The firm had revenue of $99.61 million for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR will post -2.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zai Lab news, CFO Yajing Chen sold 2,264 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.46, for a total value of $39,529.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,691 shares in the company, valued at $623,164.86. This trade represents a 5.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director William Lis sold 7,040 shares of Zai Lab stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $127,353.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,437 shares in the company, valued at $912,405.33. This represents a 12.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 90,873 shares of company stock worth $1,730,096 in the last 90 days. 4.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zai Lab

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Zai Lab stock. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,396 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 642 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Zai Lab were worth $183,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 41.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zai Lab Company Profile

Zai Lab Ltd NASDAQ: ZLAB is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of innovative therapies. Headquartered in Shanghai, China, Zai Lab operates R&D centers in Asia and the United States and maintains commercial offices across Greater China, North America, Europe and Australia. The company's end-to-end platform encompasses discovery biology, translational development, clinical research and global supply chain management.

The company's marketed portfolio is anchored by Brukinsa (zanubrutinib), a next-generation Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for several B-cell malignancies.

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