Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $41.72 and last traded at $41.68, with a volume of 3464713 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on RPRX. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.50.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a current ratio of 3.48. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.73. The stock has a market cap of $24.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.43.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.06. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 32.51% and a return on equity of 26.36%. The firm had revenue of $609.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $765.01 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 69,594 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.30, for a total transaction of $2,735,044.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,152,068. This represents a 55.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP George W. Lloyd sold 132,426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.34, for a total value of $5,077,212.84. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,045,675 shares of company stock valued at $40,833,596. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Royalty Pharma

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC raised its stake in Royalty Pharma by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 18,591 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 832 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 1.0% during the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 29,384 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,149 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. 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.