Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Sets New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $44.00 to $51.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Zai Lab traded as high as $39.61 and last traded at $38.90, with a volume of 220695 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.14.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Zai Lab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Zai Lab in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $36.10 target price (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Zai Lab in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Frazor Titus Edmondson III sold 14,544 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.98, for a total transaction of $479,661.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $472,537.44. This represents a 50.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Rafael Amado sold 7,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total transaction of $199,281.24. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,834 shares in the company, valued at $889,157.52. This trade represents a 18.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 122,127 shares of company stock worth $4,024,442 in the last ninety days. 13.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zai Lab

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Zai Lab by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,760,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,232,507 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Zai Lab by 18.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,436,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312,115 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Zai Lab by 749.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,475,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,403,000 after purchasing an additional 4,830,646 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP acquired a new stake in Zai Lab during the 4th quarter worth $65,714,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Zai Lab by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,354,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,653,000 after buying an additional 548,378 shares in the last quarter. 41.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zai Lab Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of -13.75 and a beta of 1.08.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.61) by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $109.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.15 million. Zai Lab had a negative net margin of 76.14% and a negative return on equity of 36.97%. Equities research analysts expect that Zai Lab Limited will post -2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.