Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $51.72 and last traded at $51.6360, with a volume of 2026665 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on RPRX. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.71.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.75. The stock has a market cap of $29.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.40. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.08. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 33.88% and a return on equity of 29.25%. The firm had revenue of $631.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $881.69 million. Analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Royalty Pharma news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 34,791 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.78, for a total transaction of $1,731,895.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 139,164 shares of company stock worth $6,624,902. Corporate insiders own 18.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Royalty Pharma

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RPRX. LM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 868.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 52.9% during the 4th 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. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 173.4% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 689 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 437 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.