Moran Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Key Points

• Moran Wealth Management increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 28.2% in the first quarter, ending with 175,822 shares valued at about $8.4 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added to their positions, and hedge funds now own 54.35% of the company, signaling strong institutional interest.
• Wall Street sentiment remains bullish: analysts have a consensus Buy rating on RPRX, with an average target price of $53.71, while the stock recently traded near its 52-week high after beating quarterly EPS estimates.

Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 28.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 175,822 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,629 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $8,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 21,165 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,015,000 after buying an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1,294.3% during the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 73,339 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,518,000 after acquiring an additional 68,079 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 42.2% during the first quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 168,250 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,071,000 after purchasing an additional 49,900 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 17.2% during the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 45,394 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,178,000 after purchasing an additional 6,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma in the first quarter worth $258,000. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RPRX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Royalty Pharma from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $53.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royalty Pharma news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 64,399 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.98, for a total transaction of $3,476,258.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gregory Norden sold 3,045 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $161,385.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 191,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,165,559. This trade represents a 1.56% 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. Insiders sold 427,800 shares of company stock worth $23,333,723 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 18.84% of the company's stock.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

NASDAQ RPRX opened at $57.77 on Friday. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 52 week low of $34.08 and a 52 week high of $57.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $33.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $53.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.23.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 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%. Analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.95%.

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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