Zymeworks (NYSE:ZYME) Shares Down 5.5% – Here’s Why

Zymeworks Inc. (NYSE:ZYME) shares traded down 5.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $23.39 and last traded at $23.2760. 647,587 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 1,244,957 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Zymeworks from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Zymeworks from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, December 12th. JMP Securities set a $32.00 target price on Zymeworks in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Citigroup began coverage on Zymeworks in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Zymeworks from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Zymeworks presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.82.

Zymeworks Trading Down 4.7%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.54. The company has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.65 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Insider Transactions at Zymeworks

In other news, EVP Jeffrey T. L. Smith sold 9,310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.67, for a total transaction of $211,057.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $605,470.36. This trade represents a 25.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Paul Andrew Moore sold 9,560 shares of Zymeworks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.67, for a total transaction of $216,725.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,497 shares in the company, valued at $1,099,426.99. This represents a 16.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 187,933 shares of company stock worth $4,673,716. Corporate insiders own 33.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZYME. EcoR1 Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zymeworks by 33.1% during the 2nd quarter. EcoR1 Capital LLC now owns 22,970,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,278,000 after acquiring an additional 5,710,840 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Zymeworks by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 4,710,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,117,000 after purchasing an additional 372,107 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP increased its stake in Zymeworks by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 1,765,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,146,000 after purchasing an additional 615,000 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Zymeworks by 169.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,326,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,661,000 after buying an additional 833,994 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Zymeworks by 851.6% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,104,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,870,000 after buying an additional 988,711 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.89% of the company’s stock.

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.