Zymeworks (NYSE:ZYME) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Zymeworks Inc. (NYSE:ZYME) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $14.78, but opened at $16.46. Zymeworks shares last traded at $15.91, with a volume of 203,172 shares trading hands.

Specifically, Director Ecor1 Capital, Llc acquired 157,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.78 per share, for a total transaction of $2,333,466.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 15,185,959 shares in the company, valued at $224,448,474.02. This trade represents a 1.05 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ecor1 Capital, Llc bought 58,988 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.47 per share, with a total value of $853,556.36. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 14,881,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,336,433.66. The trade was a 0.40 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ZYME. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Zymeworks in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Zymeworks from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zymeworks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Zymeworks from $21.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Zymeworks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $10.00 to $25.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.17.

Zymeworks Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $14.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.18. The company has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.74 and a beta of 1.12.

Zymeworks (NYSE:ZYME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.01. Zymeworks had a negative return on equity of 23.00% and a negative net margin of 182.75%. The firm had revenue of $16.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.41) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Zymeworks Inc. will post -1.43 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zymeworks

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ZYME. Perceptive Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Zymeworks by 55.2% during the 2nd quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 1,667,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,192,000 after acquiring an additional 592,904 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in Zymeworks by 12.7% during the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 3,917,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,336,000 after purchasing an additional 441,947 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Zymeworks by 127.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 715,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,090,000 after purchasing an additional 401,068 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Zymeworks in the third quarter worth about $4,156,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Zymeworks in the second quarter worth about $1,683,000. 92.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Zymeworks

Zymeworks Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes biotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The company’s lead product candidates include zanidatamab, a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) that is in Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 clinical trials, including certain ongoing pivotal clinical trials; and zanidatamab zovodotin, a HER2 -targeted antibody-drug conjugate that is in Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of advanced or metastatic HER2-expressing tumors.