Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) Stock Rating Upgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs upgraded Jazz Pharmaceuticals to “strong buy,” joining broad analyst optimism. The stock has an average “Buy” rating and an average price target of $289.37, with several firms recently raising their targets.
• Jazz reported quarterly revenue of $1.21 billion, up 15.5% year over year and above consensus estimates, though earnings per share of $5.71 missed expectations of $6.18.
• Insiders sold approximately $24.4 million of shares over the past 90 days, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.14% of the company.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $292.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Jazz Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $289.37.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

JAZZ stock opened at $236.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $15.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $248.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $227.51. Jazz Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $125.79 and a 1 year high of $266.38.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported $5.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.18 by ($0.47). Jazz Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 33.97% and a net margin of 20.45%.The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($8.25) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Jazz Pharmaceuticals will post 21.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Jazz Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Robert Iannone sold 76,921 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.70, for a total transaction of $19,207,173.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 65,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,401,794.20. This represents a 53.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bruce C. Cozadd sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.13, for a total value of $1,500,780.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 351,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at $88,014,493.75. This represents a 1.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 98,121 shares of company stock valued at $24,443,842. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jazz Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of JAZZ. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 42.8% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 297 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $61,000. 89.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc NASDAQ: JAZZ is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for disorders in neuroscience and oncology. The company concentrates on conditions with significant unmet medical needs, including sleep disorders, epilepsy, rare diseases and certain cancers.

Its neuroscience portfolio includes Xywav and Xyrem, oxybate-based treatments for narcolepsy, with Xywav also indicated for idiopathic hypersomnia in adults. Jazz also markets Epidiolex in the United States, known as Epidyolex in some international markets, a cannabidiol-based medicine for seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Dravet syndrome and tuberous sclerosis complex.

In oncology, Jazz's products include Rylaze, an asparaginase therapy used as part of treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma; Zepzelca, used for certain patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer; and Vyxeos, a chemotherapy formulation for certain cases of newly diagnosed therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia or AML with myelodysplasia-related changes.

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