Zymeworks (NYSE:ZYME) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

Zymeworks Inc. (NYSE:ZYME)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $14.78, but opened at $16.46. Zymeworks shares last traded at $15.91, with a volume of 203,172 shares trading hands.

Specifically, Director Ecor1 Capital, Llc acquired 157,880 shares of Zymeworks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.78 per share, for a total transaction of $2,333,466.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,185,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,448,474.02. This trade represents a 1.05 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ecor1 Capital, Llc bought 58,988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.47 per share, with a total value of $853,556.36. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 14,881,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $215,336,433.66. This represents a 0.40 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Leerink Partnrs raised Zymeworks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of Zymeworks in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Zymeworks from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Zymeworks from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Zymeworks from $21.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.17.

Zymeworks Stock Up 1.6 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $14.43 and a 200 day moving average of $12.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.01 and a beta of 1.12.

Zymeworks (NYSE:ZYME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.01. Zymeworks had a negative return on equity of 23.00% and a negative net margin of 182.75%. The company had revenue of $16.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.41) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Zymeworks Inc. will post -1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zymeworks

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zymeworks by 84.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Zymeworks in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Zymeworks by 8,049.6% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 9,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 9,096 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Zymeworks during the third quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Zymeworks during the second quarter worth approximately $92,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.89% of the company’s stock.

Zymeworks Company Profile

Zymeworks Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes biotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The company’s lead product candidates include zanidatamab, a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) that is in Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 clinical trials, including certain ongoing pivotal clinical trials; and zanidatamab zovodotin, a HER2 -targeted antibody-drug conjugate that is in Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of advanced or metastatic HER2-expressing tumors.