Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $111.17, but opened at $105.51. Jazz Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $105.30, with a volume of 566,436 shares changing hands.

The specialty pharmaceutical company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by ($2.97). Jazz Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 29.30% and a net margin of 11.60%. The company had revenue of $897.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $984.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $147.00 price objective (down from $176.00) on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Jazz Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $130.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Jazz Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Jazz Pharmaceuticals news, CAO Patricia Carr sold 1,140 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.81, for a total transaction of $157,103.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $966,323.72. This trade represents a 13.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Bruce C. Cozadd sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.35, for a total transaction of $116,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,113,369.45. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,236 shares of company stock valued at $3,956,190 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JAZZ. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,058 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 26,932 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,317,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Kendall Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 7,964 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $989,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,972 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 19,206 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,365,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.14% of the company’s stock.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.22. The company has a current ratio of 4.26, a quick ratio of 3.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

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.