Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy”

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Sunday morning.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.86.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Royalty Pharma stock opened at $60.85 on Friday. Royalty Pharma has a twelve month low of $34.08 and a twelve month high of $62.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $58.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.50. The company has a market capitalization of $34.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.05. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 32.14% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company had revenue of $674.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $758.93 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Royalty Pharma will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Christopher Hite sold 150,000 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.40, for a total value of $8,160,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 559,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,431,305.60. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 9,099 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.88, for a total value of $508,452.12. 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 398,197 shares of company stock valued at $22,513,280 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 18.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RPRX. LM Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Royalty Pharma by 173.4% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 689 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new stake in Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 89.2% during the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 876 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,094 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.