Short Interest in Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ) Grows By 73.5%

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ) was the target of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,280,000 shares, a growth of 73.5% from the August 31st total of 1,890,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 688,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days. Currently, 5.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $117.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $169.00 price target for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.07.

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 on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.30, for a total transaction of $152,703.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,531 shares in the company, valued at $1,573,707.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 2,255.6% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 212 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 13,450.0% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 271 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 55.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 65.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 293 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.14% of the company’s stock.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of JAZZ traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $110.93. 500,041 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 690,946. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.57. Jazz Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $99.06 and a 52 week 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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.87. Jazz Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 28.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. On average, analysts predict that Jazz Pharmaceuticals will post 16.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.