Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $62.58 and last traded at $62.2280, with a volume of 110214 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $61.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.86.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 1.2%

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $58.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.62. The company has a quick ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $35.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.84, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.43.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $674.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $758.93 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 32.14%. Equities research analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is currently 64.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Christopher Hite sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.40, for a total transaction of $8,160,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 559,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,431,305.60. This represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 9,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.88, for a total transaction of $508,452.12. 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. Insiders have sold 398,197 shares of company stock worth $22,513,280 over the last quarter. 18.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RPRX. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 5,065.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 39,204,424 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,198,192,000 after acquiring an additional 38,445,382 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 7.0% in the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,557 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 11.0% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,240 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 92.1% in the second quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 28,773 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,613,000 after purchasing an additional 13,791 shares during the period. Finally, Odyssean LLC increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 65.3% in the second quarter. Odyssean LLC now owns 54,179 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,038,000 after purchasing an additional 21,401 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Royalty Pharma

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.