Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Invests $31,000 in Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA acquired a new stake in shares of Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Zai Lab in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,172,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Zai Lab by 188.6% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,505,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,442,000 after purchasing an additional 984,041 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Zai Lab by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 841,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,045,000 after purchasing an additional 237,582 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its holdings in Zai Lab by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 232,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,084,000 after buying an additional 69,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Zai Lab by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 183,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,801,000 after buying an additional 41,128 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.65% of the company’s stock.

Zai Lab Trading Up 21.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ ZLAB opened at $29.54 on Friday. Zai Lab Limited has a 12-month low of $13.48 and a 12-month high of $39.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $32.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.66 and a beta of 1.09.

Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $110.15 million. Zai Lab had a negative net margin of 76.14% and a negative return on equity of 36.97%. On average, equities analysts predict that Zai Lab Limited will post -2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Zai Lab in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Zai Lab in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.10 target price (up from $29.00) on shares of Zai Lab in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Zai Lab from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ying Du sold 2,945 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.11, for a total transaction of $97,508.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 479,851 shares in the company, valued at $15,887,866.61. The trade was a 0.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Frazor Titus Edmondson III sold 14,544 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.98, for a total value of $479,661.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,537.44. The trade was a 50.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 138,744 shares of company stock worth $4,685,294 over the last three months. 13.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.