Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX Stake Boosted by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its Royalty Pharma stake by 28% in the second quarter, adding 121,761 shares to own 557,028 shares worth approximately $31.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 54.35% of the company.
• Wall Street remains bullish, with all eight covering analysts rating RPRX a Buy and a consensus price target of $60.86, above its reported opening price of $57.79.
• Royalty Pharma exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.32 versus the $1.27 consensus, while revenue of $674.14 million fell short of estimates. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, representing a 1.6% annualized yield.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 28.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 557,028 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 121,761 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.10% of Royalty Pharma worth $31,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barton Investment Management acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma in the first quarter worth approximately $905,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 172,418 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,662,000 after acquiring an additional 24,048 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,875,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,923,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 233,320 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,016,000 after acquiring an additional 22,015 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on RPRX shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Royalty Pharma from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.86.

Royalty Pharma Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Royalty Pharma stock opened at $57.79 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $56.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.80. The company has a market cap of $33.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.86, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 1 year low of $34.08 and a 1 year high of $60.44.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.05. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 32.14% and a return on equity of 30.01%. The firm had revenue of $674.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $758.93 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.83%.

Insider Activity at Royalty Pharma

In related news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 13,684 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were 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 owned 18,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $959,891.75. This trade represents a 42.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 64,399 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.98, for a total value of $3,476,258.02. 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 393,009 shares of company stock worth $21,601,827 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 18.84% of the company's stock.

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.

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.

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