Brokerages Set Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) Price Target at $48.67

Shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.6667.

A number of research firms have commented on RPRX. Wall Street Zen downgraded Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th.

Insider Activity at Royalty Pharma

In related news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.52, for a total transaction of $790,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,580,800. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 114,954 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.84, for a total transaction of $4,924,629.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 23,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,026,960.48. This trade represents a 82.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 532,287 shares of company stock worth $22,215,917. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RPRX. Watchtower Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma in the second quarter worth $3,603,000. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the third quarter worth $933,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 18.3% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 775,999 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,137,000 after acquiring an additional 120,004 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors purchased a new position in Royalty Pharma in the third quarter valued at $1,702,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 7,752.8% in the third quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 34,081 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 33,647 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RPRX opened at $46.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.33 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 2.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.28. Royalty Pharma has a 1 year low of $29.66 and a 1 year high of $47.86.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $621.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $839.97 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 28.21% and a net margin of 32.38%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Royalty Pharma will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.63%.

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.