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

Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $30.93, but opened at $31.88. Zai Lab shares last traded at $32.20, with a volume of 215,335 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ZLAB. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $36.10 price target (up from $29.00) on shares of Zai Lab in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Zai Lab in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Zai Lab from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Zai Lab in a research note on Thursday, March 27th.

Zai Lab Trading Down 1.1%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.99 and a 200-day moving average of $29.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.78 and a beta of 1.04.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.05. Zai Lab had a negative return on equity of 36.97% and a negative net margin of 76.14%. The company had revenue of $106.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $118.40 million. Research analysts predict that Zai Lab Limited 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 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 now directly owns 479,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,709,343.07. This trade represents a 9.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Yajing Chen sold 924 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.11, for a total value of $30,593.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $895,526.17. This trade represents a 3.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 235,133 shares of company stock valued at $7,416,861 in the last 90 days. 4.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Zai Lab in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA bought a new position in shares of Zai Lab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Zai Lab in the first quarter worth $75,000. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zai Lab in the first quarter worth about $110,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Zai Lab by 337.6% during the fourth 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 last quarter. 41.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.