Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) shares gapped up from a previous close of $28.40 to open at $31.17, and last traded at $32.16 with a trading volume of 207,593 shares.
• Multiple analysts have issued mixed ratings on Zai Lab, with a price target range between $52.00 and $75.00, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Insiders have sold significant amounts of Zai Lab stock recently, with a total of 215,710 shares valued at $7,589,684 being sold in the last quarter.

Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $28.40, but opened at $31.17. Zai Lab shares last traded at $32.16, with a volume of 207,593 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ZLAB shares. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Zai Lab in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Leerink Partners set a $75.00 price target on Zai Lab and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Zai Lab from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Zai Lab in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. Six 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, Zai Lab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.35.

Zai Lab Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of -15.84 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $34.71 and a 200 day moving average of $33.98.

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

Insider Transactions at Zai Lab

In other Zai Lab news, CEO Ying Du sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.74, for a total value of $1,737,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 536,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,654,059.88. This represents a 8.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 4,096 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.01, for a total value of $139,304.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $575,041.08. This represents a 19.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 215,710 shares of company stock worth $7,589,684 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ZLAB. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Zai Lab by 117.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 49,365 shares of the company's stock worth $1,293,000 after buying an additional 26,700 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Zai Lab by 1,439.8% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,755 shares of the company's stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 18,472 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zai Lab by 222.0% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 73,412 shares of the company's stock worth $1,923,000 after buying an additional 133,563 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Zai Lab in the fourth quarter worth about $1,130,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Zai Lab by 2,006.4% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 283,600 shares of the company's stock worth $7,427,000 after buying an additional 270,136 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.65% of the company's stock.

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.