Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:JAZZ) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts remain bullish: Eighteen brokerages give Jazz Pharmaceuticals a consensus “Buy” rating, with 16 buys, one hold and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $286.72, above the reported share price of $240.74.
• Quarterly results were mixed: Jazz reported $5.71 in adjusted earnings per share, below the $6.18 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $1.21 billion and grew 15.5% year over year, exceeding expectations.
• Insiders sold shares while institutional ownership remained high: Company insiders sold 98,121 shares worth approximately $24.4 million over the past three months, while hedge funds and other institutions owned 89.14% of the stock.

Shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:JAZZ - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $286.7222.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $252.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $264.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $301.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jazz Pharmaceuticals

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

Institutional Trading of Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 164.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,818,911 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $309,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129,995 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 160.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,161,857 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $197,516,000 after buying an additional 715,361 shares during the period. Sofinnova Investments Inc. boosted its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Sofinnova Investments Inc. now owns 959,860 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $163,176,000 after acquiring an additional 371,032 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $60,496,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 598,832 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $101,801,000 after acquiring an additional 242,892 shares during the period. 89.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $240.74 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $249.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $225.77. Jazz Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $125.79 and a 12-month high of $266.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.36.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($8.25) EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Jazz Pharmaceuticals will post 21.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Jazz Pharmaceuticals

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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