Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Purchases 12,203 Shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:JAZZ)

Key Points

• Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board significantly increased its investment in Jazz Pharmaceuticals, raising its stake by 95.8% to a total value of approximately $3.1 million.
• The company's stock has seen mixed performance, currently trading at $105.93, down 6.4% from previous sessions, with analysts giving it a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.43.
• In a recent earnings report, Jazz Pharmaceuticals reported an earnings per share (EPS) of ($8.25), missing analysts' estimates, despite achieving revenue of $1.05 billion which was in line with expectations.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:JAZZ - Free Report) by 95.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,944 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 12,203 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Jazz Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,058 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 26,932 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,317,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Kendall Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 7,964 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 19,206 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,365,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,700 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JAZZ. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $202.00 price objective on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $152.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of 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, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $182.00 to $172.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.43.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ JAZZ traded down $0.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $111.30. The company had a trading volume of 893,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 771,387. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 2.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC has a one year low of $95.49 and a one year high of $148.06. The company has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.34. The company's fifty day moving average is $111.27 and its 200-day moving average is $117.53.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported ($8.25) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($5.61) by ($2.64). Jazz Pharmaceuticals had a positive return on equity of 5.02% and a negative net margin of 9.91%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.30 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC will post 16.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Bruce C. Cozadd sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 436,973 shares in the company, valued at $47,031,403.99. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Seamus Mulligan purchased 1,621 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $103.00 per share, with a total value of $166,963.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 101,621 shares in the company, valued at $10,466,963. This represents a 1.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Jazz Pharmaceuticals

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.