Saudi Central Bank Increases Stake in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Saudi Central Bank raised its position in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 92.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,773 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,791 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $1,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 55,274,069 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,135,790,000 after purchasing an additional 11,110,115 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,104,309 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,201,870,000 after purchasing an additional 3,891,615 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,649,641 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $411,502,000 after purchasing an additional 376,888 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,719,843 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $297,465,000 after purchasing an additional 102,430 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,106,905 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $197,331,000 after buying an additional 449,498 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RPRX opened at $60.59 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $59.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.38. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 52 week low of $34.63 and a 52 week high of $64.38. The stock has a market cap of $34.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.79, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.44.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.05. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 32.14% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The company had revenue of $674.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $758.93 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on RPRX shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eight research 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 $61.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 9,099 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.88, for a total transaction of $508,452.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher Hite sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.97, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 21.26% decrease in their position. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 398,197 shares of company stock worth $22,513,280. Corporate insiders own 18.84% 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.