Analysts Set Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) Target Price at $47.50

Shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $47.50.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Leerink Partners set a $45.00 price objective on Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, December 11th.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Royalty Pharma stock opened at $44.65 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.91 and a 200-day moving average of $38.00. Royalty Pharma has a 52-week low of $29.66 and a 52-week high of $44.93. The company has a quick ratio of 3.48, a current ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.83, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.42.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.06. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 32.51% and a return on equity of 26.36%. The firm had revenue of $609.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $765.01 million. As a group, analysts predict that Royalty Pharma will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

Insider Transactions at Royalty Pharma

In other Royalty Pharma news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.09, for a total transaction of $821,800.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 20,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.29, for a total value of $872,856.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $990,691.65. The trade was a 46.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,309,216 shares of company stock worth $52,015,364. Corporate insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Royalty Pharma

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,535 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter worth about $1,352,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 8,058 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 20,241 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

About Royalty Pharma

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.