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

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $46.14 and last traded at $45.6290, with a volume of 367975 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Leerink Partners set a $45.00 target price on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.67.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $26.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.74 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.53 and a 200 day moving average of $38.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $621.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.97 million. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 28.21%. On average, equities analysts predict that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royalty Pharma

In related news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.09, for a total transaction of $821,800.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 20,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.29, for a total transaction of $872,856.27. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,885 shares in the company, valued at $990,691.65. The trade was a 46.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,170,028 shares of company stock worth $46,545,276. 18.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 25.2% in the 4th 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 raised its stake in Royalty Pharma by 24.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,212,694 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $960,064,000 after buying an additional 5,332,074 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Royalty Pharma during the second quarter valued at $181,388,000. Dorsey Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Royalty Pharma in the 3rd quarter worth about $82,924,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 737.3% in the third 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. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.