Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX Shares Bought by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 56,061 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 315,686 shares worth about $12.2 million.
• Several other institutions also added to or initiated positions, and institutional investors and hedge funds now own 54.35% of Royalty Pharma’s stock.
• Analysts remain bullish on RPRX, with multiple firms reiterating buy ratings and price targets as high as $66, while the stock recently traded near its 52-week high after reporting quarterly EPS of $1.30, above estimates.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 315,686 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 56,061 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.05% of Royalty Pharma worth $12,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 114,910 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,440,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,871 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 3,462 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 281,122 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $10,863,000 after acquiring an additional 61,166 shares during the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at $516,000. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at $2,875,000. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Royalty Pharma

In related news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 13,684 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.75, for a total value of $721,831.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $959,891.75. This represents a 42.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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, Director Gregory Norden sold 3,045 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were 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. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months, insiders sold 169,577 shares of company stock worth $8,234,191. Corporate insiders own 18.84% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RPRX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley upped 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. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $53.71.

Royalty Pharma Trading Up 0.9%

RPRX stock opened at $53.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $30.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.43, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.84. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 52 week low of $32.15 and a 52 week high of $53.59.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $631.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $881.69 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 29.25% and a net margin of 33.88%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio is presently 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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