Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC $JAZZ Shares Sold by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems cut its Jazz Pharmaceuticals stake by 41.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,730 shares and leaving it with 13,970 shares worth about $2.38 million.
• Insider selling has been active, including recent sales by CAO Patricia Carr and SVP Mary Elizabeth Henderson; insiders have sold 74,015 shares worth $14.18 million over the past 90 days.
• Analysts remain mostly bullish on JAZZ, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.56, even as shares traded down 1% to $228.77.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al cut its stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:JAZZ - Free Report) by 41.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,970 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 9,730 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al's holdings in Jazz Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 57.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 375 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. 89.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Jazz Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CAO Patricia Carr sold 1,287 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.94, for a total value of $235,443.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,191,305.28. This trade represents a 16.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary Elizabeth Henderson sold 5,343 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.49, for a total transaction of $1,039,160.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 28,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,587,308.72. This represents a 15.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 74,015 shares of company stock worth $14,180,486. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:JAZZ opened at $228.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11,432.78, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.27. Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC has a 1-year low of $105.00 and a 1-year high of $235.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $197.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.51.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported $6.34 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter. Jazz Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 0.66% and a return on equity of 14.56%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC will post 20.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on JAZZ. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $195.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $225.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $230.56.

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.

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