Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:JAZZ)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $266.25 and last traded at $265.7180, with a volume of 416987 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $254.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JAZZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $265.00 to $276.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $287.00 target price on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jazz Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $272.89.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market cap of $17.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $245.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.25.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported $5.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.18 by ($0.47). Jazz Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 20.45% and a return on equity of 33.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($8.25) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC will post 21.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jazz Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce C. Cozadd sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.98, for a total value of $1,517,880.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 360,682 shares in the company, valued at $91,245,332.36. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Neena M. Patil sold 1,200 shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.83, for a total value of $278,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,950,604.67. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 14,357 shares of company stock worth $3,505,642 over the last 90 days. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JAZZ. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 24,585.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 15,714,136 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,786,635,000 after acquiring an additional 15,650,479 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,666,602 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $453,322,000 after acquiring an additional 111,735 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 11.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,867,399 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $198,159,000 after acquiring an additional 191,637 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 164.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,818,911 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $309,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129,995 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 44.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,679,371 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $317,485,000 after buying an additional 517,514 shares during the period. 89.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies in neuroscience and oncology. The company’s research and development efforts target unmet medical needs in sleep disorders, hematologic malignancies, rare neurological conditions and solid tumors. Jazz’s product portfolio includes therapies for narcolepsy, hepatic veno-occlusive disease, acute myeloid leukemia and other serious disorders.

Flagship products from Jazz Pharmaceuticals include Xyrem® (sodium oxybate) and Xywav® (calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium oxybates) for the treatment of cataplexy and excessive daytime sleepiness in patients with narcolepsy.