Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Analysts are mixed: one Strong Buy, five Buy and two Sell give a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $50.00, even as firms like Cantor Fitzgerald and JPMorgan recently cut their price targets.
• Zai Lab reported a quarterly loss of ($0.50) EPS with a negative net margin (~38%), and the stock last traded around $24.56, trading above its 50‑day ($19.51) and 200‑day ($21.15) moving averages.
• Insiders have been net sellers — 46,187 shares sold in the past 90 days (including recent CFO sales) — while institutional ownership is about 41.65% and Royal Bank of Canada recently increased its stake.

Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 632,305 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the previous session's volume of 755,516 shares.The stock last traded at $24.5550 and had previously closed at $23.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Zai Lab from $55.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research lowered Zai Lab from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Zai Lab from $39.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Zai Lab to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Zai Lab in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.00.

Zai Lab Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of -15.00 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.15.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter. Zai Lab had a negative net margin of 38.15% and a negative return on equity of 22.81%. The company had revenue of $127.60 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR will post -2.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zai Lab

In other Zai Lab news, CFO Yajing Chen sold 5,199 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.39, for a total transaction of $106,007.61. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 32,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $663,857.62. This represents a 13.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joshua L. Smiley sold 9,614 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.39, for a total value of $196,029.46. Following the sale, the insider owned 120,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,459,421.41. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,187 shares of company stock valued at $930,647. 4.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zai Lab

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Zai Lab stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Free Report) by 214.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,771 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,390 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada's holdings in Zai Lab were worth $498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 41.65% of the stock is owned by 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.