Zymeworks (NASDAQ:ZYME) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Zymeworks Inc. (NASDAQ:ZYME) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $29.95 and last traded at $29.5780, with a volume of 199051 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZYME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Zymeworks in a research note on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Zymeworks from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price objective (up from $40.00) on shares of Zymeworks in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Zymeworks from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Zymeworks from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zymeworks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.75.

Zymeworks Stock Down 8.9%

The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of -12.95 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.69.

Zymeworks (NASDAQ:ZYME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.62) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.56) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $3.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.54 million. Zymeworks had a negative return on equity of 72.30% and a negative net margin of 405.31%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 90.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Zymeworks Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zymeworks announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $125.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zymeworks by 86.0% in the 1st 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 period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted 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 worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Zymeworks by 487.0% during 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 period. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Zymeworks by 114.8% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 13,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Zymeworks by 1,050.0% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 441,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,543,000 after purchasing an additional 403,281 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.89% of the company’s stock.

About Zymeworks

Zymeworks Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation multifunctional biotherapeutics. The company specializes in engineered antibody and protein therapeutics designed to address a range of unmet medical needs in oncology and other serious diseases. Through its proprietary platforms, Zymeworks aims to create novel bispecific and multispecific molecules that can simultaneously engage multiple targets and recruit immune effector functions to enhance potency and specificity.

At the core of Zymeworks’ innovation is its Azymetric™ bispecific antibody platform, which enables the design of asymmetrical bispecific antibodies with controlled assembly and high stability.