Norges Bank Invests $131.92 Million in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new stake in Royalty Pharma, buying 3.41 million shares worth about $131.9 million in the fourth quarter and owning roughly 0.59% of the company.
• Institutional interest remains strong, with hedge funds and other investors holding about 54.35% of Royalty Pharma shares, while analysts mostly remain bullish with a Buy consensus and a target price of $53.71.
• Royalty Pharma reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $1.30 per share, and it recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share payable June 10, implying a 1.7% annualized yield.

Norges Bank bought a new position in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,414,165 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $131,923,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.59% of Royalty Pharma as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Royalty Pharma by 367.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 203,760 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,342,000 after purchasing an additional 160,191 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,990 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,490,000 after buying an additional 13,489 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 1st quarter valued at $264,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 41.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,992 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,494,000 after buying an additional 13,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,559,378 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $56,184,000 after buying an additional 274,960 shares during the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on RPRX shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered Royalty Pharma from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.71.

Insider Activity at Royalty Pharma

In other Royalty Pharma news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 64,399 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 13,684 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.75, for a total transaction of $721,831.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,197 shares in the company, valued at $959,891.75. This represents a 42.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 199,185 shares of company stock worth $10,082,926. 18.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of RPRX stock opened at $55.02 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $31.68 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.43. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $50.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.93. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 52 week low of $33.37 and a 52 week high of $56.07.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.08. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 33.88% and a return on equity of 29.25%. The firm had revenue of $630.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $881.69 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.95%.

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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