California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stake in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Key Points

• California Public Employees Retirement System cut its Royalty Pharma stake by 12.9% in the first quarter, selling 134,831 shares and leaving it with 907,318 shares valued at about $43.5 million.
• Royalty Pharma reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, posting EPS of $1.30 versus the $1.22 estimate, though revenue came in below analyst expectations.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with multiple firms raising price targets and the stock holding a Buy consensus rating; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, yielding about 1.6% annualized.

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 907,318 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 134,831 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.16% of Royalty Pharma worth $43,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RPRX. LM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 173.4% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 689 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 52.9% during the 4th 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. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,094 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

RPRX opened at $57.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.97, a PEG ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $55.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.72. Royalty Pharma PLC has a twelve month low of $34.08 and a twelve month high of $59.44.

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

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on RPRX shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $56.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royalty Pharma

In other news, EVP Christopher Hite sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.52, for a total value of $5,652,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 459,399 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,965,231.48. This trade represents a 17.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 64,399 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.98, for a total value of $3,476,258.02. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 427,800 shares of company stock worth $23,333,723. 18.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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