Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) Short Interest Update

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 13,443,797 shares, a decline of 49.2% from the January 29th total of 26,462,455 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,434,841 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,434,841 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Royalty Pharma Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of RPRX opened at $46.21 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $26.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.23 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.84. Royalty Pharma has a 52-week low of $29.66 and a 52-week high of $46.37.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $621.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.97 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 28.21% and a net margin of 32.38%. Analysts predict that Royalty Pharma will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is presently 69.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.09, for a total value of $821,800.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 20,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.29, for a total transaction of $872,856.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $990,691.65. This trade represents a 46.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 965,020 shares of company stock worth $38,670,657 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Royalty Pharma

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Royalty Pharma by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 55,274,069 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,135,790,000 after purchasing an additional 11,110,115 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake 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 valued at $960,064,000 after buying an additional 5,332,074 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the second quarter worth $181,388,000. Dorsey Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the third quarter valued at $82,924,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 737.3% in the third 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 during the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RPRX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Leerink Partners set a $45.00 price objective on Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.67.

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.