Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 879,580 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 7% from the previous session's volume of 824,697 shares.The stock last traded at $32.76 and had previously closed at $29.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ZLAB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Zai Lab from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Zai Lab in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Zai Lab in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $36.10 target price (up from $29.00) on shares of Zai Lab in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

Zai Lab Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of -10.41 and a beta of 1.09. The company's fifty day moving average price is $32.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.24.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.61) by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $109.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $110.15 million. Zai Lab had a negative net margin of 76.14% and a negative return on equity of 36.97%. On average, analysts forecast that Zai Lab Limited will post -2.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ying Du sold 50,000 shares of Zai Lab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.47, for a total value of $1,723,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 494,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,032,212.99. The trade was a 9.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Yajing Chen sold 924 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.11, for a total value of $30,593.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,047 shares in the company, valued at $895,526.17. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 138,744 shares of company stock valued at $4,685,294. 13.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zai Lab

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Zai Lab during the 3rd quarter valued at $369,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Zai Lab by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,626 shares of the company's stock worth $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 9,107 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Zai Lab by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 183,317 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,801,000 after acquiring an additional 41,128 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Zai Lab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $511,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Zai Lab by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,061 shares of the company's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.65% of the company's stock.

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.