Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $46.37 and last traded at $46.1250, with a volume of 1008568 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $45.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RPRX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Leerink Partners set a $45.00 target price on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Citigroup raised their target price on Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.67.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 1.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $26.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.20 and a beta of 0.42. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.77.

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

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This is an increase from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 20,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.29, for a total value of $872,856.27. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $990,691.65. This trade represents a 46.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.09, for a total value of $821,800.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 965,020 shares of company stock worth $38,670,657 in the last ninety days. 18.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 55,274,069 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,135,790,000 after buying an additional 11,110,115 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,104,309 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,201,870,000 after acquiring an additional 3,891,615 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,200,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $430,426,000 after acquiring an additional 42,800 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Royalty Pharma by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,649,641 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $411,502,000 after purchasing an additional 376,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 2.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,176,504 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $299,494,000 after purchasing an additional 177,036 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

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.