Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Leerink Partners set a $45.00 price target on Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Royalty Pharma in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Royalty Pharma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.60.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $39.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a current ratio of 3.48. Royalty Pharma has a fifty-two week low of $29.66 and a fifty-two week high of $41.70. The firm has a market cap of $22.83 billion, a PE ratio of 29.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.43.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $609.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $765.01 million. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 32.51% and a return on equity of 26.36%. Equities research analysts predict that Royalty Pharma will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royalty Pharma news, EVP George W. Lloyd sold 30,654 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total transaction of $1,180,179.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total transaction of $815,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 60,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,446,800. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 936,093 shares of company stock valued at $36,499,945 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,212,694 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $960,064,000 after purchasing an additional 5,332,074 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma in the second quarter worth approximately $181,388,000. Dorsey Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Royalty Pharma in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $82,924,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in Royalty Pharma by 737.3% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 2,481,771 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $87,557,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 379.2% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,235,133 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $78,855,000 after purchasing an additional 1,768,702 shares during the last quarter. 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.