Zymeworks (NASDAQ:ZYME) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Zymeworks Inc. (NASDAQ:ZYME) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $31.49 and last traded at $30.95, with a volume of 264,950 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Zymeworks in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Zymeworks from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Zymeworks in a research note on Monday, October 26th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Zymeworks from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price target (up from $40.00) on shares of Zymeworks in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.67.

Zymeworks Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $27.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.25. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.33 and a beta of 1.32.

Zymeworks (NASDAQ:ZYME) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.62) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.56) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $3.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.54 million. Zymeworks had a negative net margin of 405.31% and a negative return on equity of 72.30%. Zymeworks’s revenue for the quarter was down 90.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Zymeworks Inc. will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Adam Schayowitz sold 13,832 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.85, for a total value of $357,557.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $599,849.25. This represents a 37.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 37.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Zymeworks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Zymeworks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $111,122,000. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Zymeworks by 21.7% in the first quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 7,000,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,280,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,000 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Zymeworks by 72.0% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,252,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,728,000 after buying an additional 524,041 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Zymeworks in the second quarter worth about $10,383,000. Finally, Perceptive Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Zymeworks by 7.6% in the first quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 3,510,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,892,000 after buying an additional 248,228 shares in the last quarter. 92.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zymeworks Company Profile

Zymeworks Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing multifunctional biotherapeutics for cancer and other serious diseases. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, and has historically operated internationally through research, development and collaboration activities.

Zymeworks’ technology platforms include Azymetric, which is designed to support the development of engineered antibody therapeutics, and ZymeLink, which enables the creation of antibody-drug conjugates and other targeted therapies.