Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:JAZZ) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $255.00 to $282.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Jazz Pharmaceuticals traded as high as $250.85 and last traded at $250.4050, with a volume of 166153 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $243.47.

JAZZ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Leerink Partners increased their target price on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $188.00 to $307.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.06.

Insider Transactions at Jazz Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Neena M. Patil sold 1,200 shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.83, for a total transaction of $278,196.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,950,604.67. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Douglas Smith sold 1,157 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.55, for a total value of $266,746.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,231,724. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,098 shares of company stock valued at $3,131,906. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Jazz Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,666,602 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $453,322,000 after buying an additional 111,735 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 11.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,867,399 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $198,159,000 after acquiring an additional 191,637 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 164.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,818,911 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $309,215,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129,995 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 44.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,679,371 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $317,485,000 after acquiring an additional 517,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,677,132 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $285,113,000 after acquiring an additional 50,996 shares during the period. 89.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $236.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $202.31. The stock has a market cap of $15.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -12,514.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.32.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported $6.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Jazz Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 0.66%.The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC will post 21.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies in neuroscience and oncology. The company’s research and development efforts target unmet medical needs in sleep disorders, hematologic malignancies, rare neurological conditions and solid tumors. Jazz’s product portfolio includes therapies for narcolepsy, hepatic veno-occlusive disease, acute myeloid leukemia and other serious disorders.

Flagship products from Jazz Pharmaceuticals include Xyrem® (sodium oxybate) and Xywav® (calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium oxybates) for the treatment of cataplexy and excessive daytime sleepiness in patients with narcolepsy.