Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $59.31 and last traded at $59.3330, with a volume of 347128 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $58.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered Royalty Pharma from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $56.57.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $34.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.17, a PEG ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $54.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.46.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.08. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 29.25% and a net margin of 33.88%.The firm had revenue of $630.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $881.69 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gregory Norden sold 3,045 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $161,385.00. Following the sale, the director owned 191,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,165,559. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher Hite sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.52, for a total value of $5,652,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 459,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,965,231.48. This represents a 17.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 427,800 shares of company stock worth $23,333,723 in the last 90 days. 18.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 55,274,069 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,135,790,000 after purchasing an additional 11,110,115 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,104,309 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,201,870,000 after buying an additional 3,891,615 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $131,923,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 737.3% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 2,481,771 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $87,557,000 after buying an additional 2,185,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 379.2% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,235,133 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $78,855,000 after acquiring an additional 1,768,702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

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.