Zymeworks (NASDAQ:ZYME) Trading Up 2.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Zymeworks Inc. (NASDAQ:ZYME) shares rose 2.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $47.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Zymeworks traded as high as $24.11 and last traded at $23.9610. Approximately 80,312 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 750,194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.31.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Citizens Jmp set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Zymeworks in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Zymeworks from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, December 12th. Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of Zymeworks from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Zymeworks in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Zymeworks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zymeworks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Paul Andrew Moore sold 20,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total transaction of $504,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 31,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $783,421.20. This represents a 39.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey T. L. Smith sold 10,538 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total value of $264,503.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,635.20. This trade represents a 36.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 187,933 shares of company stock valued at $4,673,716 over the last 90 days. 33.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More Zymeworks News

Here are the key news stories impacting Zymeworks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Secured $250M non-recourse royalty‑backed note from Royalty Pharma — provides non-dilutive capital while only pledging 30% of Ziihera royalties, intended to preserve near‑term cash flows and fund share repurchases or strategic transactions. Royalty Financing
• Positive Sentiment: Ziihera regulatory/commercial progress — partner Jazz expects to complete the supplemental BLA for first‑line HER2+ GEA in 1Q26 with a potential H2 2026 launch; Zymeworks stands to receive up to $440M in GEA milestones plus tiered royalties, and recent approvals in Canada/UK further de‑risk near‑term royalty upside. Corporate Update
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: Leerink Partners raised its price target to $58 and keeps an Outperform rating, signaling materially higher upside expectations vs. the current price and likely supporting buying interest. Leerink Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Share buybacks underway — company has repurchased ~$62.5M of stock under its authorized program, reducing share count and supporting EPS if continued. Repurchase Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Full‑year results mixed: 2025 revenue rose ~39% to $106M and net loss narrowed year‑over‑year, with cash resources of ~$270.6M — improves runway but depends on milestone timing and partner commercialization. FY2025 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Partner clinical updates: J&J presented pasritamig data at ASCO‑GU (supporting ongoing Phase 3 work); this is favorable but value accrual depends on future trial readouts and milestone captures. Pasritamig/Partner Data
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly miss: Zymeworks reported Q4 EPS of ($0.55) vs. consensus ($0.35) and Q4 revenue was only $2.52M (down sharply YoY), which creates short‑term disappointment and explains some selling pressure. Earnings Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Insider and institutional selling: recent disclosures show notable insider sales and large institutional position reductions by some managers — could weigh on sentiment if sustained. Insider/Institutional Activity

Institutional Trading of Zymeworks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EcoR1 Capital LLC increased its stake in Zymeworks by 33.1% in the second quarter. EcoR1 Capital LLC now owns 22,970,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,278,000 after acquiring an additional 5,710,840 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Zymeworks by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 5,750,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,449 shares in the last quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Zymeworks by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 3,261,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,187 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Zymeworks by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,328,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,315,000 after buying an additional 174,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestal Point Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Zymeworks by 53.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 1,765,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,146,000 after buying an additional 615,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.89% of the company’s stock.

Zymeworks Stock Up 3.8%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.81 and a beta of 1.23.

Zymeworks (NASDAQ:ZYME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported ($0.55) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $2.52 million during the quarter. Zymeworks had a negative net margin of 47.16% and a negative return on equity of 19.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 91.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.31) EPS.

Zymeworks Company Profile

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.