Short Interest in Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:JAZZ) Declines By 19.7%

Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:JAZZ) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,240,459 shares, a decline of 19.7% from the March 31st total of 6,526,407 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 878,015 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.0 days. Approximately 8.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Patricia Carr sold 1,287 shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.94, for a total transaction of $235,443.78. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,191,305.28. The trade was a 16.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Neena M. Patil sold 55,600 shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.56, for a total value of $10,650,736.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 56,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,892,484.72. The trade was a 49.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 74,015 shares of company stock worth $14,180,486. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JAZZ. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 96.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 67,614 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,394,000 after acquiring an additional 33,210 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 147.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 351,609 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $43,652,000 after acquiring an additional 209,667 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 197,174 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,479,000 after acquiring an additional 7,954 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,623 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 57.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 375 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. 89.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $219.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Truist Financial raised Jazz Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.87.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ JAZZ traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $202.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 572,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 905,068. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $189.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Jazz Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $97.50 and a 1 year high of $207.48. The company has a market capitalization of $12.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.96, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.27.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.49 by $0.15. Jazz Pharmaceuticals had a positive return on equity of 6.87% and a negative net margin of 8.35%.The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Jazz Pharmaceuticals will post 20.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.