Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) Stock Price Target Lowered at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada lowered Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ price target to $296 from $299 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, implying roughly 35% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Jazz has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $291.25, with targets ranging as high as $337.
• Shares fell $12.11 to $219.08 in Thursday trading. The company’s latest quarterly revenue rose 15.5% year over year to $1.21 billion, though earnings of $5.71 per share missed estimates.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by Royal Bank Of Canada from $299.00 to $296.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target points to a potential upside of 35.11% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on JAZZ. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $325.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, September 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $337.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $291.25.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $12.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $219.08. 248,396 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 934,344. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.78. Jazz Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $128.80 and a 1-year high of $266.38. The company has a market cap of $14.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $245.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.80.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported $5.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.18 by ($0.47). The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. Jazz Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 20.45% and a return on equity of 33.97%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($8.25) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Jazz Pharmaceuticals will post 21.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jazz Pharmaceuticals

In other Jazz Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Neena M. Patil sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.94, for a total value of $289,128.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,485,850.74. This represents a 2.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Renee D. Gala sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.03, for a total transaction of $486,060.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 143,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,849,043.82. The trade was a 1.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 100,121 shares of company stock worth $24,855,802 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 517,514 shares during the last quarter. Sofinnova Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Sofinnova Investments Inc. now owns 959,860 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $163,176,000 after purchasing an additional 371,032 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $60,496,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 68.2% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 598,832 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $101,801,000 after purchasing an additional 242,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perceptive Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $28,900,000. 89.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for patients with serious neurological and oncology-related conditions. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, the company operates internationally, with a significant commercial presence in the United States and other markets.

Jazz's neuroscience portfolio includes Xywav and Xyrem, which contain oxybate and are used to treat narcolepsy-related symptoms; Xywav is also approved for idiopathic hypersomnia in adults.

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