Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Royalty Pharma from “strong buy” to “buy,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “Buy” with an average price target of $61.29.
• Royalty Pharma shares opened at $58.21, near their 50-day average of $59.57, while the stock’s 52-week range is $34.63 to $64.38 and its market capitalization is approximately $33.47 billion.
• The company exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.32 versus $1.27 expected, but revenue of $674.14 million fell short of the $758.93 million consensus estimate; insiders have sold roughly $19.7 million of shares over the past 90 days.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on RPRX. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Royalty Pharma from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Royalty Pharma from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $61.29.

Royalty Pharma Stock Down 0.1%

Royalty Pharma stock opened at $58.21 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $59.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.48. Royalty Pharma has a 1-year low of $34.63 and a 1-year high of $64.38. The company has a market cap of $33.47 billion, a PE ratio of 40.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 2.80.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.05. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 30.01% and a net margin of 32.14%.The firm had revenue of $674.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $758.93 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Royalty Pharma will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Royalty Pharma

In other Royalty Pharma news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 9,099 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.88, for a total transaction of $508,452.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher Hite sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.53, for a total transaction of $5,853,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 270,401 shares in the company, valued at $15,826,570.53. This trade represents a 27.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 339,099 shares of company stock valued at $19,704,252. 18.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,104,309 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,201,870,000 after acquiring an additional 3,891,615 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,719,843 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $297,465,000 after acquiring an additional 102,430 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 29.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,495,846 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $167,696,000 after acquiring an additional 786,921 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at $131,923,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,313,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $128,025,000 after purchasing an additional 31,091 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Royalty Pharma Company Profile

Royalty Pharma plc is a biopharmaceutical royalty company that provides funding to life sciences companies in exchange for rights to receive future royalty payments from commercialized or late-stage therapies. Rather than developing and marketing medicines itself, the company invests in pharmaceutical and biotechnology innovations and seeks to generate income from the resulting royalty streams.

Its portfolio is linked to a range of therapies across areas including oncology, immunology, neuroscience, rare diseases and other specialty markets.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.