Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $54.74 and last traded at $53.86, with a volume of 2758152 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $54.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.71.

Royalty Pharma Stock Down 1.2%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.17. The company has a market cap of $31.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.64, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.08. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 29.25% and a net margin of 33.88%.The business had revenue of $631.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $881.69 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is currently 63.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 34,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.78, for a total transaction of $1,731,895.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 13,684 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.06, for a total value of $726,073.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,691,605.86. This represents a 30.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 169,577 shares of company stock valued at $8,234,191. Insiders own 18.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 55,274,069 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,135,790,000 after acquiring an additional 11,110,115 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 5,332,074 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $131,923,000. Dorsey Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $82,924,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Company Profile

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.