Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Zai Lab Limited Unsponsored ADR (NASDAQ:ZLAB) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,980,000 shares, anincreaseof7,956.7% from the June 30th total of 49,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 938,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 938,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zai Lab

In other Zai Lab news, CEO Ying Du sold 7,072 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total transaction of $249,146.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 536,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,917,171.26. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Yajing Chen sold 2,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.13, for a total transaction of $96,647.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $758,874.52. This trade represents a 11.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 160,155 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,535 over the last three months. 4.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zai Lab

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ZLAB. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Zai Lab in the fourth quarter worth about $1,032,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Zai Lab by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,233,000 after purchasing an additional 23,510 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA purchased a new stake in Zai Lab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Zai Lab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $313,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Zai Lab by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 55,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 11,894 shares in the last quarter. 41.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zai Lab Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of Zai Lab stock opened at $36.82 on Friday. Zai Lab has a 12-month low of $16.01 and a 12-month high of $44.34. The company has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.79 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.81.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.45) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.05. Zai Lab had a negative net margin of 60.26% and a negative return on equity of 33.35%. The firm had revenue of $106.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.40 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zai Lab will post -2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZLAB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Zai Lab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Leerink Partners set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Zai Lab and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.28.

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.