Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Shares Down 7.1% Following Insider Selling

Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 7.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $24.74 and last traded at $25.14. Approximately 710,767 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 966,621 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.07.

Specifically, CFO Yajing Chen sold 924 shares of Zai Lab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.11, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ying Du sold 2,945 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.11, for a total transaction of $97,508.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 479,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,887,866.61. The trade was a 0.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, insider Frazor Titus Edmondson III sold 1,874 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.11, for a total value of $62,048.14. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,005,716.25. The trade was a 5.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ZLAB shares. Scotiabank began coverage on Zai Lab in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set a $36.10 price target (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Zai Lab in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Zai Lab from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Zai Lab in a research note on Thursday, March 27th.

Zai Lab Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.32 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.12.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zai Lab

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. RTW Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Zai Lab during the fourth quarter worth about $65,714,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Zai Lab during the fourth quarter worth about $46,172,000. RA Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Zai Lab in the 4th quarter worth about $33,917,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Zai Lab by 113.3% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,862,842 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,788,000 after acquiring an additional 989,664 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.65% of the company's stock.

Zai Lab Company Profile

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.