What happened
Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ 1.46%), which specializes in neuroscience and oncology therapies, saw its stock rise 13.3% in March, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The stock began the month at $135.93 and never looked back, climbing to a high of $162.76 on March 25 and ending the month at $155.67, nearly $20 higher than it started.
Image Source: Getty Images
So what
It's easy to see the catalyst for the stock's rise -- an impressive fourth-quarter and annual report released on March 1 that also included encouraging guidance for the rest of the year. The day after the report came out, the stock jumped 12.2%.
The biggest number that led to the climb was Jazz's 2021 revenue of $3.094 billion, up 31% over 2020. Most of that came from the company's neuroscience segment with a reported $2.4 billion, but both that segment and oncology ($734 million in 2021 revenue) had similar growth numbers.
The fourth-quarter top-line number was also strong with a reported $897 million in revenue, an increase of 35%, year over year. The one down number was the company's GAAP earnings-per-share (EPS) loss of $5.52, due in part to greater expenses because of the company's $7.2 billion purchase of GW Pharmaceuticals in 2021.
The company's guidance shows it expects 2022 revenue to be between $3.46 billion and $3.66 billion, representing an increase of 15% at the midpoint. It also said it expected 2022 EPS to be between $0.50 and $3.00.
Now what
There are good reasons for investors' optimism with Jazz, which could also be considered a cannabis stock because of its use of cannabinoids in some therapies.
The company's Oxybate narcolepsy drug franchise of Xywav and Xyrem brought in a combined $1.8 billion in revenue in 2021, up 3% over 2020.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) didn't approve Rylaze, an injectable chemotherapy to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma, until June 30, 2021, but Jazz said the drug has already produced $85.6 million in revenue in 2021, including $65 million in the fourth quarter.
Jazz also has several promising drugs looking to extend their applications in Phase 3 trials. That includes two cannabis compounds, Nabiximols and Cannabidiol. The first is an oral spray that combines THC and CBD and has been approved to treat multiple sclerosis pain and neuropathic pain, and now is being looked at to treat spasticity from spinal cord injuries and in multiple sclerosis patients. Cannabidiol, already approved for seizures in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Dravet syndrome, and tuberous sclerosis complex, is being tested to treat epilepsy with myoclonic-atonic seizures.
Jazz also has two oncology drugs in Phase 3 trials. Zepzelca has already been approved to treat metastatic small cell lung cancer (SCLC); it is in a trial, as a first-line treatment, combined with atezolizumab, to treat SCLC; and JZP351 is in trials for various applications to fight acute myeloid leukemia.
