Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX Stock Position Raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Royalty Pharma by 28.1% in Q3 to 1,759,620 shares (about 0.30% of the company) valued at $62.08 million, as institutional ownership sits at roughly 54.35%.
• Analyst sentiment is largely positive with six firms rating RPRX a Buy and an average price target of $48.67, including upgrades and reaffirmations from UBS, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and others.
• Company fundamentals are mixed: Q results beat EPS estimates ($1.46 vs. $1.33) but missed revenue ($622M vs. $840M), the quarterly dividend was raised to $0.235 (2.1% yield), and insiders sold ~517,496 shares (~$21.4M) in the past three months.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Free Report) by 28.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,759,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 386,108 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.30% of Royalty Pharma worth $62,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 24.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,212,694 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $960,064,000 after purchasing an additional 5,332,074 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,200,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $430,426,000 after purchasing an additional 42,800 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,272,753 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $362,423,000 after purchasing an additional 77,815 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $181,388,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Royalty Pharma by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,657,407 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $164,313,000 after purchasing an additional 165,727 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RPRX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $49.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Six equities 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 $48.67.

Royalty Pharma Trading Down 0.6%

Royalty Pharma stock opened at $45.53 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 2.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.26 billion, a PE ratio of 33.73 and a beta of 0.40. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 12-month low of $29.66 and a 12-month high of $47.86.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.13. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 28.21% and a net margin of 32.38%.The firm had revenue of $621.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $839.97 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Royalty Pharma's payout ratio is 69.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.09, for a total transaction of $821,800.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 34,791 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.78, for a total transaction of $1,627,522.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 45,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,140,699.58. This trade represents a 43.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 517,496 shares of company stock worth $21,418,283 in the last three months. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company's stock.

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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