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

Zymeworks Inc. (NYSE:ZYME) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $14.04, but opened at $14.63. Zymeworks shares last traded at $14.05, with a volume of 32,031 shares changing hands.

Specifically, Director Ecor1 Capital, Llc bought 39,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.01 per share, for a total transaction of $546,796.29. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 15,578,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,258,035.32. This represents a 0.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ecor1 Capital, Llc purchased 74,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.39 per share, with a total value of $992,533.75. Following the purchase, the director now owns 15,485,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,346,868.17. The trade was a 0.48 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In other news, Director Ecor1 Capital, Llc acquired 204,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.13 per share, with a total value of $2,679,806.74. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,411,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,347,454.14. The trade was a 1.34 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ZYME. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Zymeworks from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Zymeworks from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Zymeworks from $21.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zymeworks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Zymeworks from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.17.

Zymeworks Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $964.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.33 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $14.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.57.

Zymeworks (NYSE:ZYME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $16.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.90 million. Zymeworks had a negative net margin of 182.75% and a negative return on equity of 23.00%. Zymeworks’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.41) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Zymeworks Inc. will post -1.39 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zymeworks by 84.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Zymeworks in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Zymeworks by 8,049.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 9,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 9,096 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zymeworks during the 3rd quarter worth $79,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Zymeworks in the second quarter worth $92,000. 92.89% of the stock is 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.