Merit Financial Group LLC Takes Position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ)

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,265 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of JAZZ. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 117.4% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 939,351 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $115,681,000 after acquiring an additional 507,234 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Global Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $59,668,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,035,070 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $250,619,000 after acquiring an additional 320,724 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,827,658 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $225,076,000 after acquiring an additional 315,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GMT Capital Corp grew its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 140.0% during the 4th quarter. GMT Capital Corp now owns 508,800 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $62,659,000 after acquiring an additional 296,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JAZZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $200.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $147.00 price target (down previously from $176.00) on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Jazz Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $167.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Jazz Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $184.00.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:JAZZ traded down $1.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $108.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 478,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 833,690. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 3.74 and a current ratio of 4.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $107.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.56. Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc has a fifty-two week low of $95.49 and a fifty-two week high of $148.06.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.65 by ($2.97). Jazz Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 29.30% and a net margin of 11.60%. The firm had revenue of $897.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $984.16 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc will post 16.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Seamus Mulligan acquired 1,621 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $103.00 per share, with a total value of $166,963.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 101,621 shares in the company, valued at $10,466,963. This trade represents a 1.62% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bruce C. Cozadd sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.90, for a total value of $53,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 438,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,311,236.70. This trade represents a 0.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $355,925. 4.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc identifies, develops, and commercializes pharmaceutical products for unmet medical needs in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers Xywav for cataplexy or excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) with narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia; Xyrem to treat cataplexy or EDS with narcolepsy; Epidiolex for seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet syndromes, or tuberous sclerosis complex; Zepzelca to treat metastatic small cell lung cancer, or with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy; Rylaze for acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma; Enrylaze to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma; Defitelio to treat severe hepatic veno-occlusive disease; and Vyxeos for newly-diagnosed therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia.