Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ) Shares Bought by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ) by 42.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 278,294 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 83,065 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.44% of Jazz Pharmaceuticals worth $34,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 676.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 396 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 128.6% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 423 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $56,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 85.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 546 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.14% of the company’s stock.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of JAZZ opened at $109.46 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $118.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.59. Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc has a 52-week low of $106.61 and a 52-week high of $146.70.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported $4.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.44 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Jazz Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 31.27%. Research analysts predict that Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc will post 16.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Philip L. Johnson acquired 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $119.65 per share, with a total value of $1,435,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 27,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,342,063.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Philip L. Johnson acquired 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $119.65 per share, with a total value of $1,435,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 27,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,342,063.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Patricia Carr sold 1,936 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.64, for a total value of $231,623.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,000,668.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on JAZZ shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $235.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.08.

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.