Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Zai Lab shares gapped down significantly, opening at $30.59 compared to the previous close of $31.49, with the last traded price being $29.38.
• Despite recent negative performance, several analysts maintain positive ratings, with Jefferies setting a "buy" rating and a target price of $52.00, while Citigroup has a target of $69.00.
• Insider sales have been notable, with sell-offs contributing to a total of 215,710 shares sold over the last 90 days, indicating potential concerns among company insiders about stock performance.

Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $31.49, but opened at $30.59. Zai Lab shares last traded at $29.38, with a volume of 391,341 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Zai Lab in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $69.00 price objective (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Zai Lab in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Zai Lab from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Zai Lab and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.35.

Zai Lab Stock Performance

The company's fifty day moving average is $34.78 and its 200-day moving average is $34.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of -15.65 and a beta of 1.04.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Zai Lab had a negative net margin of 49.68% and a negative return on equity of 27.32%. The business had revenue of $109.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $125.66 million. Zai Lab has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR will post -2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Zai Lab

In other news, insider Joshua L. Smiley bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 86,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,503,721.64. The trade was a 13.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Yajing Chen sold 1,438 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.42, for a total value of $50,933.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 16,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at $592,222.40. This represents a 7.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 215,710 shares of company stock valued at $7,589,684. Corporate insiders own 4.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zai Lab by 63.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,884,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121,856 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Zai Lab by 46,222.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,127,598 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Zai Lab by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,884,411 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,103,000 after acquiring an additional 378,545 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Zai Lab by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,759,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,089,000 after acquiring an additional 151,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Zai Lab by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,009,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,466,000 after acquiring an additional 167,285 shares during the last quarter. 41.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zai Lab Company Profile

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.