Zymeworks Inc. (NYSE:ZYME) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Zymeworks Inc. (NYSE:ZYME) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.8182.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities set a $32.00 target price on shares of Zymeworks in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Leerink Partners set a $37.00 price target on shares of Zymeworks in a report on Monday, November 17th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $30.00) on shares of Zymeworks in a report on Friday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Zymeworks from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Zymeworks in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company.

Zymeworks Stock Performance

Shares of ZYME stock opened at $24.18 on Wednesday. Zymeworks has a 52 week low of $9.03 and a 52 week high of $28.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of -16.12 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $23.96 and its 200-day moving average is $18.11.

Zymeworks (NYSE:ZYME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.28) by $0.02. Zymeworks had a negative return on equity of 23.00% and a negative net margin of 182.75%.The business had revenue of $27.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.39) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 72.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Zymeworks will post -1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Zymeworks

In related news, EVP Jeffrey T. L. Smith sold 10,538 shares of Zymeworks stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total value of $264,503.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,352 shares in the company, valued at $460,635.20. This trade represents a 36.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth Galbraith sold 54,343 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total value of $1,364,009.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 158,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,972,978.60. This represents a 25.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 132,519 shares of company stock worth $3,417,481 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 33.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zymeworks

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Zymeworks by 86.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 48,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $577,000 after acquiring an additional 22,411 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Zymeworks by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 32,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,427 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zymeworks by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 360,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,288,000 after purchasing an additional 7,291 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Zymeworks by 184.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,879,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,210,000 after purchasing an additional 2,514,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Zymeworks by 487.0% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 135,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 112,636 shares during the last quarter. 92.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zymeworks Company Profile

Zymeworks Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a focus on the discovery, development and commercialization of multifunctional biotherapeutics. Founded in 2003, the company applies proprietary protein engineering platforms to create novel antibody and protein-based therapies targeting oncology and other serious diseases. Zymeworks is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ZYME.

The company’s core technology platforms include Azymetric®, which enables the design of bispecific antibodies capable of engaging two distinct targets simultaneously, and the EFECT™ platform for fine-tuning antibody-drug conjugate properties.