Short Interest in Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB) Grows By 40.5%

Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB) saw a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,160,000 shares, an increase of 40.5% from the July 15th total of 2,960,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 648,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.4 days.

Zai Lab Price Performance

NASDAQ:ZLAB opened at $16.25 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.25 and a 200 day moving average of $18.27. Zai Lab has a 52 week low of $13.48 and a 52 week high of $31.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.66 and a beta of 1.06.

Insider Activity at Zai Lab

In related news, CEO Ying Du sold 23,939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.90, for a total transaction of $428,508.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,142,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,456,710.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Zai Lab news, Director William Lis sold 10,397 shares of Zai Lab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.32, for a total transaction of $180,076.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 53,089 shares in the company, valued at $919,501.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ying Du sold 23,939 shares of Zai Lab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.90, for a total transaction of $428,508.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,142,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,456,710.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,934 shares of company stock valued at $902,743. Corporate insiders own 5.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zai Lab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZLAB. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Zai Lab during the 4th quarter valued at $116,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Zai Lab by 4,470.6% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 33,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 32,814 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Zai Lab during the 4th quarter valued at $228,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new position in Zai Lab during the 4th quarter valued at $253,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Zai Lab during the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. 41.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZLAB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Zai Lab from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Zai Lab in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.97.

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.