Jennison Associates LLC Reduces Stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ)

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its holdings in Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ - Free Report) by 55.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 210,186 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 260,413 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.33% of Jazz Pharmaceuticals worth $25,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in JAZZ. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 676.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 396 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 128.6% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 423 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $56,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 546 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Patricia Carr sold 1,936 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.64, for a total value of $231,623.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,000,668.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Jazz Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Philip L. Johnson acquired 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $119.65 per share, with a total value of $1,435,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 27,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,342,063.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Patricia Carr sold 1,936 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.64, for a total transaction of $231,623.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,000,668.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JAZZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $235.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 1st. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. HC Wainwright dropped their price objective on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $131.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jazz Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $195.08.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $107.43. The company had a trading volume of 423,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 606,018. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $118.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.94. Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc has a fifty-two week low of $106.61 and a fifty-two week high of $146.70. The firm has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.85.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported $4.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.44 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Jazz Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 31.27% and a net margin of 10.82%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc will post 16.24 earnings per share for the current year.

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.