Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC $JAZZ

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:JAZZ) by 3.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 135,504 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,907 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Jazz Pharmaceuticals were worth $25,617,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in JAZZ. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 57.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 375 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 1,383.3% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 356 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.14% of the company’s stock.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JAZZ opened at $243.47 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $235.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $201.15. Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC has a 1 year low of $105.00 and a 1 year high of $250.49. The company has a market capitalization of $15.29 billion, a PE ratio of -12,167.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.04.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported $6.34 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter. Jazz Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 0.66% and a return on equity of 14.56%. On average, research analysts predict that Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC will post 21.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on JAZZ. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $252.00 price objective on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $256.00 to $254.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $253.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Douglas Smith sold 1,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.55, for a total value of $266,746.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,231,724. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bruce C. Cozadd sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.47, for a total value of $1,442,820.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 366,682 shares in the company, valued at $88,176,020.54. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 13,098 shares of company stock worth $3,131,906. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.