Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $56.57 and last traded at $56.5070, with a volume of 957999 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on RPRX shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.71.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $32.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $53.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.08. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 33.88% and a return on equity of 29.25%. The business had revenue of $630.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $881.69 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is 63.95%.

Insider Transactions at Royalty Pharma

In related news, EVP Christopher Hite sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.40, for a total transaction of $8,160,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 559,399 shares in the company, valued at $30,431,305.60. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gregory Norden sold 3,045 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $161,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 191,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,165,559. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 288,701 shares of company stock valued at $15,479,471. 18.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RPRX. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Royalty Pharma by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 55,274,069 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,135,790,000 after purchasing an additional 11,110,115 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,104,309 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,201,870,000 after acquiring an additional 3,891,615 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,649,641 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $411,502,000 after acquiring an additional 376,888 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,719,843 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $297,465,000 after acquiring an additional 102,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,106,905 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $197,331,000 after acquiring an additional 449,498 shares during the period. 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.