Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) Short Interest Update

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 12,870,000 shares, a decrease of 39.5% from the September 15th total of 21,280,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 3.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Currently, 3.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RPRX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Royalty Pharma from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Royalty Pharma in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $46.00.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Royalty Pharma stock opened at $36.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $21.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $36.06 and a 200-day moving average of $34.88. Royalty Pharma has a 52 week low of $24.05 and a 52 week high of $38.00.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 25.54% and a net margin of 44.23%.The firm had revenue of $578.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $750.06 million. On average, analysts expect that Royalty Pharma will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is currently 50.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,200,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $430,426,000 after purchasing an additional 42,800 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 7.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,194,938 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $367,324,000 after purchasing an additional 678,810 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 2.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,176,504 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $299,494,000 after purchasing an additional 177,036 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the second quarter valued at about $181,388,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 270.4% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,623,134 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $112,788,000 after purchasing an additional 2,644,923 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Royalty Pharma

Royalty Pharma plc operates as a buyer of biopharmaceutical royalties and a funder of innovations in the biopharmaceutical industry in the United States. It is also involved in the identification, evaluation, and acquisition of royalties on various biopharmaceutical therapies. In addition, the company collaborates with innovators from academic institutions, research hospitals and not-for-profits, small and mid-cap biotechnology companies, and pharmaceutical companies.