Merit Financial Group LLC Buys New 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,265 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,531,050 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $311,699,000 after buying an additional 37,108 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,035,070 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $250,619,000 after buying an additional 320,724 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,923,342 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $236,860,000 after buying an additional 104,195 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,827,658 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $225,076,000 after buying an additional 315,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,587,541 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $195,506,000 after acquiring an additional 72,007 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Jazz Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $200.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Jazz Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $167.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $184.00.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ JAZZ traded down $1.79 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $108.50. 478,127 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 834,460. The company has a 50 day moving average of $107.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.54. The company has a quick ratio of 3.74, a current ratio of 4.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc has a 52-week low of $95.49 and a 52-week high of $148.06. The firm has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Insider Transactions at Jazz Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Seamus Mulligan bought 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $98.26 per share, with a total value of $9,826,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $9,826,000. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bruce C. Cozadd sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.35, for a total value of $116,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,307 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,113,369.45. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $355,925. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals 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.