Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Hits New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Royalty Pharma shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $53.48 and ending up about 0.9% on the day.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with multiple firms raising price targets and MarketBeat showing an average rating of Buy and a target price of $53.71.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected EPS of $1.30, but revenue came in below estimates; it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, yielding about 1.8%.

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $53.48 and last traded at $53.43, with a volume of 1724718 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $53.06.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on RPRX shares. Weiss Ratings cut Royalty Pharma from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $53.71.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 0.9%

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 market capitalization of $30.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.43, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.73.

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

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.95%.

Insider Activity at Royalty Pharma

In other Royalty Pharma news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 34,791 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.78, for a total transaction of $1,731,895.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Marshall Urist sold 13,684 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.06, for a total transaction of $726,073.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,691,605.86. This represents a 30.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 155,893 shares of company stock worth $7,512,360. Company insiders own 18.84% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RPRX. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 9,318 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 0.6% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1.1% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 34.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,094 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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