Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $69.83 and last traded at $69.07, with a volume of 452,424 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $69.45.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on RPRX. Citigroup raised their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eight have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $63.29.

Insider Activity

In other Royalty Pharma news, EVP Christopher Hite sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.53, for a total transaction of $5,853,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 270,401 shares in the company, valued at $15,826,570.53. This trade represents a 27.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 4,126 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.10, for a total value of $235,594.60. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 208,252 shares of company stock valued at $12,324,407 in the last three months. Company insiders own 18.84% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Royalty Pharma

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RPRX. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 29.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,495,846 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $167,696,000 after purchasing an additional 786,921 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Royalty Pharma by 15.3% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,088,773 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $148,168,000 after buying an additional 409,394 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Royalty Pharma by 0.8% in the first quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC now owns 2,276,570 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $109,207,000 after buying an additional 17,101 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Royalty Pharma by 2,562.2% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,544,018 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $74,000,000 after buying an additional 1,486,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Royalty Pharma by 28.2% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,168,427 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $68,189,000 after buying an additional 256,841 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $39.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.48, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.2350 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is currently 78.33%.

About Royalty Pharma

Royalty Pharma plc is a biopharmaceutical royalty company that provides funding to companies and inventors in exchange for royalty interests in medicines. It acquires existing royalties and helps finance drug development and commercialization through royalty-based transactions and other forms of funding. The company’s portfolio includes royalty interests in medicines across a range of therapeutic areas, spanning both approved treatments and products in development. Royalty Pharma generally earns revenue when these medicines are sold; it does not operate as a conventional drug manufacturer or commercialize medicines itself.