Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,890,000 shares, a decrease of 7.4% from the August 15th total of 2,040,000 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 710,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Insider Activity at Jazz Pharmaceuticals

In other Jazz Pharmaceuticals news, SVP Mary Elizabeth Henderson sold 1,410 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.30, for a total value of $152,703.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,573,707.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jazz Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JAZZ. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 55.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,082 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,937,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,439 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 29,749 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,659,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 10,371 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 89.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JAZZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $169.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $174.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Four 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.07.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ JAZZ traded down $1.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $110.14. 121,613 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 684,218. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.15. The stock has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.57. Jazz Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $99.06 and a 1-year high of $137.38.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported $4.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.87. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. Jazz Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 28.65% and a net margin of 10.10%. On average, analysts expect that Jazz Pharmaceuticals will post 16.03 EPS for the current fiscal 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.