Critical Survey: Zai Lab (ZLAB) and The Competition

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) is one of 844 public companies in the “Biotechnology” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Zai Lab to similar companies based on the strength of its valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Zai Lab and its rivals revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zai Lab	$460.16 million	-$175.54 million	-14.77
Zai Lab Competitors	$698.13 million	$10.43 million	-15.37

Zai Lab’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Zai Lab. Zai Lab is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

41.6% of Zai Lab shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.9% of shares of all “Biotechnology” companies are held by institutional investors. 4.9% of Zai Lab shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.0% of shares of all “Biotechnology” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Zai Lab and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zai Lab	-41.86%	-27.43%	-16.72%
Zai Lab Competitors	-12,359.35%	-203.09%	-30.93%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Zai Lab and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zai Lab	1	1	4	1	2.71
Zai Lab Competitors	9858	15137	45528	1590	2.54

Zai Lab presently has a consensus price target of $37.25, suggesting a potential upside of 40.94%. As a group, “Biotechnology” companies have a potential upside of 99.44%. Given Zai Lab’s rivals higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Zai Lab has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Risk & Volatility

Zai Lab has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zai Lab’s rivals have a beta of 1.16, meaning that their average stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Zai Lab rivals beat Zai Lab on 7 of the 13 factors compared.

About Zai Lab

Zai Lab is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for patients with serious diseases. Its research and development programs focus on oncology, immunology, neuroscience and infectious diseases. Founded in 2014 by biopharmaceutical executive Samantha Du, the company is headquartered in Shanghai and operates in China and the United States. It advances its own drug candidates and works with international partners to develop and bring therapies to market. Zai Lab’s portfolio includes medicines and development programs for cancers and other conditions, including therapies introduced through licensing and collaboration agreements.