Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $37.33, but opened at $35.33. Zai Lab shares last traded at $35.27, with a volume of 73,020 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZLAB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Zai Lab in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.10 target price (up from $29.00) on shares of Zai Lab in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Zai Lab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Zai Lab from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th.

Zai Lab Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.67 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $30.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.75.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.61) by ($0.19). Zai Lab had a negative net margin of 76.14% and a negative return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $109.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.15 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Zai Lab Limited will post -2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Zai Lab

In related news, insider Rafael Amado sold 7,583 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total value of $199,281.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,834 shares in the company, valued at $889,157.52. This represents a 18.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ying Du sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.47, for a total value of $1,723,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 494,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,032,212.99. This represents a 9.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 125,127 shares of company stock worth $4,139,672 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zai Lab

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Zai Lab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA purchased a new stake in Zai Lab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Zai Lab by 337.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,856 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Zai Lab by 1,671.9% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 5,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Zai Lab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.65% of the company’s stock.

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.