Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) in a research report issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $51.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 49.91% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on RPRX. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Friday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $42.50.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ RPRX opened at $34.02 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.99. The company has a market capitalization of $19.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.49. Royalty Pharma has a 1 year low of $24.05 and a 1 year high of $34.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $839.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $724.69 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 24.40% and a net margin of 37.94%. On average, analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RPRX. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1,006.9% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 963 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 417.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,087 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 76.4% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 956 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 3,953.3% during the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186 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 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.