Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $49.06 and last traded at $48.16, with a volume of 2730420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Leerink Partners set a $45.00 target price on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.67.

Royalty Pharma Stock Down 0.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 2.40. The company has a market cap of $27.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.60 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $45.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.71.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.13. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 28.21% and a net margin of 32.38%.The business had revenue of $621.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $839.97 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This is an increase from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is 69.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.09, for a total value of $821,800.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 34,791 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.33, for a total transaction of $1,681,449.03. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 32,916 shares in the company, valued at $1,590,830.28. This trade represents a 51.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 497,496 shares of company stock valued at $21,224,025. Insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new position in Royalty Pharma during the third quarter worth $933,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 18.3% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 775,999 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,137,000 after purchasing an additional 120,004 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the third quarter worth $1,702,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 7,752.8% during the third quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 34,081 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 33,647 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 140,131 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,944,000 after buying an additional 31,045 shares during the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.