Insider Selling: Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) EVP Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.32, for a total transaction of $766,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 140,000 shares in the company, valued at $5,364,800. The trade was a 12.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Marshall Urist also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, December 5th, Marshall Urist sold 23,334 shares of Royalty Pharma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.15, for a total value of $913,526.10.
• On Friday, December 5th, Marshall Urist sold 18,242 shares of Royalty Pharma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.15, for a total value of $714,174.30.
• On Monday, December 1st, Marshall Urist sold 23,333 shares of Royalty Pharma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.93, for a total value of $931,686.69.
• On Monday, December 1st, Marshall Urist sold 18,242 shares of Royalty Pharma stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.90, for a total value of $727,855.80.

Royalty Pharma Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of RPRX stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $38.31. The company had a trading volume of 2,251,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,333,543. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.68. The company has a market capitalization of $22.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a current ratio of 3.48. Royalty Pharma PLC has a twelve month low of $24.05 and a twelve month high of $41.24.

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

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is 66.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 868.1% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on RPRX shares. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Royalty Pharma from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Royalty Pharma in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Royalty Pharma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.60.

About Royalty Pharma

Royalty Pharma plc operates as a buyer of biopharmaceutical royalties and a funder of innovations in the biopharmaceutical industry in the United States. It is also involved in the identification, evaluation, and acquisition of royalties on various biopharmaceutical therapies. In addition, the company collaborates with innovators from academic institutions, research hospitals and not-for-profits, small and mid-cap biotechnology companies, and pharmaceutical companies.