Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:ZLAB) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $17.51, but opened at $18.07. Zai Lab shares last traded at $17.95, with a volume of 120,258 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ZLAB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Zai Lab from $39.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Zai Lab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. Zacks Research lowered Zai Lab from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group began coverage on Zai Lab in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Zai Lab in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.00.

Zai Lab Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $18.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.11 and a beta of 0.85.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $127.60 million during the quarter. Zai Lab had a negative return on equity of 22.81% and a negative net margin of 38.15%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR will post -2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Yajing Chen sold 1,703 shares of Zai Lab stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.63, for a total value of $31,726.89. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,999 shares in the company, valued at $372,581.37. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joshua L. Smiley sold 1,966 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.63, for a total transaction of $36,626.58. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 91,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,695,814.38. The trade was a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 17,413 shares of company stock valued at $311,460 over the last three months. 4.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zai Lab

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Zai Lab stock. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:ZLAB) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $331,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.65% of the company’s stock.

Zai Lab Company Profile

Zai Lab Ltd (NASDAQ: ZLAB) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of innovative therapies. Headquartered in Shanghai, China, Zai Lab operates R&D centers in Asia and the United States and maintains commercial offices across Greater China, North America, Europe and Australia. The company’s end-to-end platform encompasses discovery biology, translational development, clinical research and global supply chain management.

The company’s marketed portfolio is anchored by Brukinsa (zanubrutinib), a next-generation Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for several B-cell malignancies.