Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Stake in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management increased its Royalty Pharma stake by 12.4% in Q1, bringing its holdings to 352,428 shares valued at about $16.7 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus rating on RPRX staying at “Buy” with an average target of $53.71.
• Royalty Pharma reported Q1 earnings of $1.30 per share, beating estimates, and also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, implying a 1.6% yield.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 12.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 352,428 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,918 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.06% of Royalty Pharma worth $16,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of RPRX. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 13,113 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $521,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 9,318 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in Royalty Pharma by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 43,287 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,673,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its position in Royalty Pharma by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 24,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $943,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 832 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on RPRX. Citigroup lifted their target price on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Royalty Pharma from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $53.71.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RPRX opened at $57.77 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $53.40 and a 200 day moving average of $47.16. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $33.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.43. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 12-month low of $34.08 and a 12-month high of $57.80.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $630.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $881.69 million. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 33.88% and a return on equity of 29.25%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio is 63.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Royalty Pharma news, EVP Christopher Hite sold 150,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.40, for a total transaction of $8,160,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 559,399 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,431,305.60. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gregory Norden sold 3,045 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $161,385.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 191,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,165,559. The trade was 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 a total of 427,800 shares of company stock valued at $23,333,723 in the last 90 days. 18.84% of the stock is owned by company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RPRX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report).

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.