Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:JAZZ)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $257.00 and last traded at $255.89, with a volume of 174866 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $253.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on JAZZ. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.06.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $238.28 and a 200 day moving average of $204.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $16.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12,839.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.32.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported $6.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter. Jazz Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 0.66% and a return on equity of 14.56%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC will post 21.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Jazz Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Bruce C. Cozadd sold 6,000 shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.47, for a total value of $1,442,820.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 366,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,176,020.54. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.83, for a total transaction of $278,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,549 shares in the company, valued at $11,950,604.67. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 13,098 shares of company stock worth $3,131,906 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jazz Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of JAZZ. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,666,602 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $453,322,000 after buying an additional 111,735 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 11.4% in 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 buying an additional 191,637 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 164.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,818,911 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $309,215,000 after buying an additional 1,129,995 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 44.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,679,371 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $317,485,000 after buying an additional 517,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,677,132 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $285,113,000 after acquiring an additional 50,996 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.14% of the company’s stock.

About Jazz Pharmaceuticals

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.