Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Rating Lowered to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on RPRX. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Royalty Pharma from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $60.86.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Shares of Royalty Pharma stock opened at $61.41 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Royalty Pharma has a 1-year low of $34.08 and a 1-year high of $62.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.35, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.43.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $674.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $758.93 million. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 32.14% and a return on equity of 30.01%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Royalty Pharma will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher Hite sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.97, for a total value of $5,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 370,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,212,947.97. This trade represents a 21.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 9,099 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.88, for a total transaction of $508,452.12. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 398,197 shares of company stock worth $22,513,280. 18.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LM Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in Royalty Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 173.4% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 689 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 66.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.