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

Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened 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 trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Zai Lab Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.70 and a 200 day moving average of $27.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.67 and a beta of 1.08.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.80) 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 firm had revenue of $109.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.15 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Zai Lab Limited will post -2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Zai Lab

In other Zai Lab news, insider Frazor Titus Edmondson III sold 14,544 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.98, for a total value of $479,661.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $472,537.44. This trade represents a 50.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rafael Amado sold 7,583 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,834 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 125,127 shares of company stock valued at $4,139,672. 13.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zai Lab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ZLAB. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zai Lab in the 3rd quarter worth $1,666,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Zai Lab by 4,851.8% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 9,364 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Zai Lab by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 121,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,923,000 after purchasing an additional 3,860 shares during the last quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zai Lab during the 3rd quarter worth about $386,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Zai Lab during the 3rd quarter worth about $357,000. 41.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.