Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB Decreases Stock Holdings in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Key Points

• Rhenman & Partners Asset Management reduced its stake in Royalty Pharma by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 52,000 shares and leaving it with 206,500 shares valued at about $8.0 million.
• Insiders also sold shares recently, including EVP Marshall Urist and Director Gregory Norden, with insiders selling about $10.1 million of stock over the last three months.
• Royalty Pharma reported better-than-expected EPS of $1.30 for the quarter, paid a $0.235 quarterly dividend, and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Buy with an average price target of $53.71.

Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB trimmed its position in shares of Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 206,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 52,000 shares during the quarter. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB's holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $7,979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RPRX. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 868.1% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 832 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 66.4% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 31.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Royalty Pharma

In related news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 13,684 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.06, for a total value of $726,073.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,691,605.86. This trade represents a 30.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $161,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 191,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,165,559. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold 199,185 shares of company stock valued at $10,082,926 in the last three months. 18.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of Royalty Pharma stock opened at $54.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.33, a PEG ratio of 1.52 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $51.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.57. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 52 week low of $34.08 and a 52 week high of $56.50.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $630.58 million during 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on RPRX. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Royalty Pharma from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $53.71.

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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