Short Interest in Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Rises By 27.4%

Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,710,000 shares, an increase of 27.4% from the January 15th total of 6,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 807,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Zai Lab from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Zai Lab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rafael Amado sold 7,583 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total transaction of $199,281.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $889,157.52. This represents a 18.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 13.88% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Zai Lab

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZLAB. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Zai Lab by 749.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,475,505 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,403,000 after purchasing an additional 4,830,646 shares during the period. RTW Investments LP bought a new stake in Zai Lab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,714,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Zai Lab by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,760,074 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,232,507 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Zai Lab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,172,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Zai Lab by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,436,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $203,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312,115 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.65% of the company's stock.

Zai Lab Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:ZLAB traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $29.00. 549,817 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 600,608. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.94. Zai Lab has a 12 month low of $13.48 and a 12 month high of $36.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.47 and a beta of 1.02.

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.