Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $43.76 and last traded at $43.68, with a volume of 5153969 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RPRX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.50.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $25.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50-day moving average is $39.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.89. The company has a current ratio of 3.48, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $609.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $765.01 million. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 32.51% and a return on equity of 26.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royalty Pharma

In related news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 20,163 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.29, for a total transaction of $872,856.27. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,885 shares in the company, valued at $990,691.65. The trade was a 46.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.09, for a total transaction of $821,800.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 1,309,216 shares of company stock worth $52,015,364 in the last ninety days. 18.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Royalty Pharma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 24.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,212,694 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $960,064,000 after acquiring an additional 5,332,074 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,200,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $430,426,000 after purchasing an additional 42,800 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,272,753 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $362,423,000 after purchasing an additional 77,815 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,176,504 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $299,494,000 after buying an additional 177,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma in the second quarter valued at $181,388,000. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Company Profile

Royalty Pharma plc is a specialty finance company that acquires biopharmaceutical royalty interests and provides non-dilutive financing to drug developers and rights holders. The firm purchases future royalty streams, milestone-contingent payments and other revenue rights linked to approved and late-stage pharmaceutical and biotechnology products. By paying upfront consideration for these rights, Royalty Pharma seeks to generate long-term cash flows tied to the commercial performance of a diversified portfolio of medicines.

The company’s transaction structures include outright royalty purchases, structured financings and milestone arrangements tailored to the needs of innovator companies, academic institutions and investors.