Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $53.48 and last traded at $53.43, with a volume of 1724718 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on RPRX. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.71.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 0.9%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.73. The company has a market cap of $30.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.43, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $631.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $881.69 million. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 33.88% and a return on equity of 29.25%. On average, research analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is 63.95%.

Insider Activity at Royalty Pharma

In related news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 13,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.06, for a total value of $726,073.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,881 shares in the company, valued at $1,691,605.86. This represents a 30.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gregory Norden sold 3,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $161,385.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 191,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,165,559. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. 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 a total of 155,893 shares of company stock worth $7,512,360 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 18.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LM Advisors LLC bought a new position in Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 173.4% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 689 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 832 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 868.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. 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.