Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ) Short Interest Down 8.3% in December

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,850,000 shares, a drop of 8.3% from the December 15th total of 4,200,000 shares. Currently, 6.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 606,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.4 days.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of JAZZ stock opened at $121.18 on Monday. Jazz Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $99.06 and a 1-year high of $134.17. The firm has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $122.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 3.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Jazz Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Neena M. Patil sold 3,700 shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.41, for a total value of $456,617.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,078,453.68. The trade was a 10.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Bruce C. Cozadd sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.84, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 428,976 shares in the company, valued at $47,547,699.84. This trade represents a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,253 shares of company stock valued at $1,001,434. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $65,812,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 40.7% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,820,913 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $194,346,000 after acquiring an additional 527,187 shares during the period. Baupost Group LLC MA raised its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 52.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,274,248 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $136,000,000 after purchasing an additional 440,552 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 1,808.4% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 450,872 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $48,122,000 after buying an additional 427,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 48.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,222,198 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $130,447,000 after acquiring an additional 398,549 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $154.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $179.00 price objective on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jazz Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.00.

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.