Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.6667.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of RPRX traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.12. The company had a trading volume of 463,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,690,636. 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 capitalization of $27.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.85 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.15. Royalty Pharma has a 52 week low of $29.66 and a 52 week high of $47.86.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 28.21% and a net margin of 32.38%.The company had revenue of $621.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.97 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were given a $0.235 dividend. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is currently 69.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royalty Pharma

In other news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 34,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.53, for a total transaction of $1,584,034.23. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 43,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,129.58. This represents a 44.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.09, for a total value of $821,800.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 532,287 shares of company stock worth $22,215,917. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1,347.4% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 87,814 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,393,000 after acquiring an additional 81,747 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 58,434 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,258,000 after purchasing an additional 10,178 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Royalty Pharma by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,681 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 10,618 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 154,922 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,986,000 after purchasing an additional 32,766 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.