Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Zai Lab from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Zai Lab from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings raised Zai Lab from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Zai Lab from $39.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.00.

Zai Lab Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:ZLAB opened at $19.75 on Tuesday. Zai Lab has a 12-month low of $15.96 and a 12-month high of $41.20. The company has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of -12.19 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $18.72 and a 200 day moving average of $19.04.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter. Zai Lab had a negative return on equity of 24.32% and a negative net margin of 39.29%.The firm had revenue of $99.61 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Zai Lab will post -2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Yajing Chen sold 2,264 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.46, for a total transaction of $39,529.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $623,164.86. This represents a 5.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Ying Du sold 7,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.53, for a total value of $130,191.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,203,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,306,117.52. This represents a 0.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 90,873 shares of company stock worth $1,730,096. Corporate insiders own 4.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zai Lab

An institutional investor recently raised its stake in Zai Lab stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:ZLAB) by 214.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,771 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,390 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Zai Lab were worth $498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 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.