Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its position in Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ - Free Report) by 735.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,115 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,108 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC's holdings in Jazz Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Allianz SE acquired a new position in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 75.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 303 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals by 70.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 311 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 89.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of JAZZ traded down $1.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $100.50. The stock had a trading volume of 1,707,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 782,754. Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc has a 1-year low of $95.49 and a 1-year high of $148.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.77. 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 related news, CEO Bruce C. Cozadd sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.31, for a total value of $183,465.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,744 shares in the company, valued at $53,785,088.64. This trade represents a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Neena M. Patil sold 3,800 shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $550,506.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,826,778.66. The trade was a 10.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,736 shares of company stock worth $4,023,305. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JAZZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Jazz Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $179.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $187.71.

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.