Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Stock Rating Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eight have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $63.29.

Royalty Pharma Trading Down 1.5%

RPRX stock opened at $68.97 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $61.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.39. Royalty Pharma has a fifty-two week low of $37.31 and a fifty-two week high of $70.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.2350 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Christopher Hite sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.53, for a total transaction of $5,853,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 270,401 shares in the company, valued at $15,826,570.53. The trade was a 27.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 4,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.10, for a total value of $235,594.60. 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 208,252 shares of company stock worth $12,324,407 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 18.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RPRX. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Royalty Pharma by 2,562.2% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,544,018 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $74,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,486,020 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,941,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,495,846 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $167,696,000 after buying an additional 786,921 shares during the period. Carmignac Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,279,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the third quarter worth approximately $30,761,000. Institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Company Profile

Royalty Pharma plc is a biopharmaceutical royalty company that provides funding to companies and inventors in exchange for royalty interests in medicines. It acquires existing royalties and helps finance drug development and commercialization through royalty-based transactions and other forms of funding. The company’s portfolio includes royalty interests in medicines across a range of therapeutic areas, spanning both approved treatments and products in development. Royalty Pharma generally earns revenue when these medicines are sold; it does not operate as a conventional drug manufacturer or commercialize medicines itself.