Amundi Increases Stake in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Key Points

• Amundi increased its Royalty Pharma stake by 15.3% in the first quarter, adding 409,394 shares to own 3.09 million shares valued at approximately $148.2 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 54.35% of RPRX.
• Royalty Pharma reported quarterly EPS of $1.30, beating estimates by $0.08, although revenue of $630.6 million fell short of the $881.7 million consensus forecast. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, yielding about 1.6% annually.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with a $56.57 price target, while several firms recently raised their targets as high as $66. Shares opened at $58.43, near the company’s 52-week high of $60.44.

Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 15.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,088,773 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 409,394 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned approximately 0.54% of Royalty Pharma worth $148,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of RPRX. LM Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 832 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 173.4% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 689 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 66.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of RPRX opened at $58.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.65 billion, a PE ratio of 39.75, a P/E/G ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 0.43. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 52-week low of $34.08 and a 52-week high of $60.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.86. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $630.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $881.69 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 29.25% and a net margin of 33.88%. Equities research analysts predict that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Royalty Pharma's payout ratio is 63.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royalty Pharma

In related news, EVP Christopher Hite sold 100,000 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.52, for a total transaction of $5,652,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 459,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,965,231.48. The trade was a 17.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 9,099 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.88, for a total value of $508,452.12. 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. Insiders have sold 393,009 shares of company stock valued at $21,601,827 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 18.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RPRX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.57.

Royalty Pharma 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.

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