Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $50.50 and last traded at $50.3080, with a volume of 595 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on RPRX. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $50.33.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 0.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.22 billion, a PE ratio of 37.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.40.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.13. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 28.21%. The business had revenue of $621.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.97 million. Analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 34,791 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.78, for a total transaction of $1,731,895.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 159,327 shares of company stock worth $7,497,758 in the last ninety days. 18.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RPRX. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 55,274,069 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,135,790,000 after purchasing an additional 11,110,115 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 24.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,212,694 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $960,064,000 after purchasing an additional 5,332,074 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $131,923,000. Dorsey Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the third quarter valued at approximately $82,924,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 737.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,185,366 shares during the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.