Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Zai Lab Limited's stock price gapped up from $37.17 to $38.50 before closing at $38.64 with a trading volume of 190,939 shares.
• Wall Street analysts currently have an average rating of "Moderate Buy" for Zai Lab, with a consensus price target of $54.28, despite a recent downgrade from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen.
• Recent insider transactions indicate significant selling, with the director William Lis and CEO Ying Du both reducing their stock positions, reflecting a total of 160,155 shares sold in the last 90 days.

Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $37.17, but opened at $38.50. Zai Lab shares last traded at $38.64, with a volume of 190,939 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZLAB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Leerink Partners set a $75.00 price target on Zai Lab and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Zai Lab from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.28.

Zai Lab Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of -15.57 and a beta of 0.99.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.05. Zai Lab had a negative return on equity of 33.35% and a negative net margin of 60.26%. The company had revenue of $106.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.40 million. On average, research analysts expect that Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR will post -2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Zai Lab

In other news, Director William Lis sold 13,814 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.67, for a total transaction of $492,745.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,252,231.02. This represents a 28.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ying Du sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,428,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 479,851 shares in the company, valued at $13,709,343.07. The trade was a 9.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 160,155 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,535. 4.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Zai Lab in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA purchased a new position in shares of Zai Lab in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Zai Lab in the 1st quarter valued at $75,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Zai Lab by 337.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 2,856 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zai Lab in the 1st quarter valued at $110,000. 41.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Zai Lab

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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