Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has reduced its price target for Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $165.00 to $162.00, while maintaining an "overweight" rating on the stock, indicating a potential upside of 51.03% from the last close.
• Jazz Pharmaceuticals recently reported a quarterly earnings miss of ($8.25) per share, significantly lower than the consensus estimate of ($5.61), despite achieving revenue of $1.05 billion.
• Several research firms have recently adjusted their ratings on Jazz Pharmaceuticals, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.43.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $162.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price indicates a potential upside of 45.94% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on JAZZ. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $202.00 price objective on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $147.00 price objective (down previously from $176.00) on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $182.00 to $172.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $152.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.43.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of JAZZ traded down $1.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $111.01. The stock had a trading volume of 187,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 966,403. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.60. The firm has a market cap of $6.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 0.34. 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 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 issued its quarterly earnings results 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 negative net margin of 9.91% and a positive return on equity of 5.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.30 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Jazz Pharmaceuticals will post 16.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Jazz Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Bruce C. Cozadd sold 1,000 shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 436,973 shares in the company, valued at $47,031,403.99. The trade was a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Seamus Mulligan acquired 1,621 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director owned 101,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,466,963. This represents a 1.62% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Jazz Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 22,505 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,772,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 90,742 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,175,000 after buying an additional 24,443 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 205 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,205 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,910,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 26,932 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,317,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.14% of the company's stock.

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.