Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

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 prior to trading 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ZLAB shares. Leerink Partners set a $75.00 price objective on Zai Lab and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Zai Lab from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Zai Lab in a report on Monday, August 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 price target (up from $66.00) on shares of Zai Lab in a report on Monday, August 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. 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 has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.74 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.02.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Zai Lab

In other Zai Lab news, insider Joshua L. Smiley sold 6,641 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total transaction of $240,669.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 76,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,776,128.96. This represents a 7.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Yajing Chen sold 4,096 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.01, for a total value of $139,304.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer 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 215,710 shares of company stock valued at $7,589,684 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RTW Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Zai Lab in the fourth quarter worth $65,714,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in 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 worth $77,058,000 after acquiring an additional 2,127,598 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Zai Lab by 63.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,884,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,257,000 after buying an additional 1,121,856 shares during the last quarter. MPM Bioimpact LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zai Lab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,952,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in Zai Lab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,743,000. 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.

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