Swiss National Bank Sells 22,000 Shares of Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,093,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 22,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.19% of Royalty Pharma worth $38,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RPRX. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 868.1% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,499 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Royalty Pharma news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 34,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.78, for a total transaction of $1,627,522.98. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,140,699.58. This represents a 43.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 737,078 shares of company stock valued at $29,862,002 over the last three months. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RPRX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Royalty Pharma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Leerink Partners set a $45.00 price target on Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $48.67.

Royalty Pharma Trading Down 0.3%

RPRX traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $45.73. The stock had a trading volume of 314,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,698,125. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.89 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a current ratio of 2.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.47. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 52 week low of $29.66 and a 52 week high of $47.86.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.13. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 28.21% and a net margin of 32.38%.The company had revenue of $621.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $839.97 million. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is 69.63%.

Royalty Pharma Profile

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.