Clearbridge Investments LLC Boosts Stock Position in Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB)

Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB) by 113.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,862,842 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 989,664 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 1.70% of Zai Lab worth $48,788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Zai Lab by 4,851.8% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 9,364 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Zai Lab by 3.3% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 121,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,923,000 after acquiring an additional 3,860 shares during the period. PEAK6 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zai Lab during the third quarter worth $386,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Zai Lab in the third quarter valued at $357,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY grew its position in Zai Lab by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,906,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,023,000 after purchasing an additional 113,869 shares during the period. 41.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZLAB has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Zai Lab from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.10 price objective (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Zai Lab in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Zai Lab in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Zai Lab in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Activity at Zai Lab

In other Zai Lab news, CEO Ying Du sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.47, for a total value of $1,723,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 494,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,032,212.99. This trade represents a 9.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Rafael Amado sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.41, for a total transaction of $115,230.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,184,333.94. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 117,544 shares of company stock valued at $3,940,391. 13.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zai Lab Price Performance

Zai Lab stock opened at $36.14 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of -13.05 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.46. Zai Lab Limited has a 12 month low of $13.48 and a 12 month high of $39.77.

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

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.