Jazz Pharmaceuticals Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NAS: JAZZ) were playing a beautiful tune today and climbed 14% in intraday trading.

So what: Revenues jumped 60% to $64.6 million, and earnings per share were $0.71 in the second quarter. That's fine and dandy, but the full-year forecast caught investors' eyes when Jazz said it was expecting between $247 million and $260 million in revenue and earnings per share between $2.68 and $2.79.

Now what: Analysts were expecting 2011 to be at the lower end of what Jazz gave for guidance, so it wasn't like these were blowout numbers, but a better-than-expected guidance is a good step. On the balance sheet, Jazz prepaid $33 million of long-term debt on July 1, strengthening an already strong balance sheet. The company has now beat estimates for four straight quarters, one of this Fool's favorite signs of a stock moving higher.

Interested in more info on Jazz Pharmaceuticals? Add it to your watchlist.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Travis Hoium does not have a position in any company mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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