Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $62.20 and last traded at $62.0140, with a volume of 631154 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $61.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on RPRX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup raised 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.86.

Royalty Pharma Trading Up 1.4%

The firm has a market cap of $35.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.89, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $57.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.00. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $674.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $758.93 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 32.14%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Royalty Pharma

In related news, 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 Christopher Hite sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.40, for a total transaction of $8,160,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 559,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,431,305.60. This represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 398,197 shares of company stock worth $22,513,280 in the last quarter. 18.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 5,065.0% in 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 raised its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 7.0% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,557 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Royalty Pharma by 11.0% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,240 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,011 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank boosted its position in Royalty Pharma by 92.1% during the second quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 28,773 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,613,000 after purchasing an additional 13,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Odyssean LLC grew its stake in Royalty Pharma by 65.3% in the second quarter. Odyssean LLC now owns 54,179 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,038,000 after purchasing an additional 21,401 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.