Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Upgraded by Cantor Fitzgerald to Strong-Buy Rating

Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.10 price target (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Zai Lab in a research note on Monday.

Zai Lab Stock Up 5.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ZLAB traded up $1.83 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $35.83. The stock had a trading volume of 222,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 738,713. Zai Lab has a 12-month low of $13.48 and a 12-month high of $36.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.94 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.18.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 36.97% and a negative net margin of 76.14%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Zai Lab will post -2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zai Lab news, CEO Ying Du sold 50,000 shares of Zai Lab stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.47, for a total transaction of $1,723,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 494,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,032,212.99. The trade was a 9.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rafael Amado sold 7,583 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $889,157.52. This represents a 18.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 122,127 shares of company stock worth $4,024,442. Insiders own 13.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zai Lab

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ZLAB. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Zai Lab during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA acquired a new position in shares of Zai Lab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Zai Lab by 337.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 2,856 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Zai Lab by 1,671.9% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 5,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Zai Lab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $210,000. 41.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.