Chairwoman And CEO Of Zai Lab Sold $4.49 Million In Stock

Ying Du, Chairwoman And CEO at Zai Lab ZLAB, made a large insider sell on September 7, according to a new SEC filing.

What Happened: A Form 4 filing from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday showed that Du sold 29,785 shares of Zai Lab at a price of $149.07 per share. The total transaction amounted to $4,489,523.

Following the transaction, Du still owns 1,008,653 shares of Zai Lab worth $138,175,374.

Zai Lab shares were down at $136.99 after Thursday's closing.

Now trade stocks online commission free with Charles Schwab, a trusted and complete investment firm.

The Importance of Insider Transactions

Insider transactions shouldn't be used primarily to make an investing decision, however an insider transaction can be an important factor in the investing decision.

In legal terms, an "insider" refers to any shareholder who owns at least 10% of a company. This can include executives in the c-suite and large hedge funds. These insiders are required to let the public know of their transactions via a Form 4 filing, which must be filed within two business days of the transaction.

When a company insider makes a new purchase, that is an indication that they expect the stock to rise.

Insider sells, on the other hand, can be made for a variety of reasons, and may not necessarily mean that the seller thinks the stock will go down.

Important Transaction Codes

Investors prefer focusing on transactions that take place in the open market, indicated in Table I of the Form 4 filing. A P in Box 3 indicates a purchase, while S indicates a sale. Transaction code C indicates the conversion of an option, and transaction code A indicates the insider may have been forced to sell shares in order to receive compensation that had been promised upon being hired by the company.

Check Out The Full List Of Zai Lab's Insider Trades.