Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Hits New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Royalty Pharma shares hit a new 52-week high of $50.50, and analysts maintain an average Buy rating with a mean target of $50.33, while UBS raised its price target to $57.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.46, beating estimates, but revenue of $622M missed the ~$840M consensus; the stock trades with a market cap of $29.22B and a P/E of 37.5.
• Royalty Pharma declared a quarterly dividend of $0.235 (annualized $0.94, yield 1.9%, DPR ~69.6%), while insiders sold 159,327 shares last quarter (including the CFO), and institutional ownership is about 54%.

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $50.50 and last traded at $50.3080, with a volume of 595 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on RPRX shares. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Royalty Pharma from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $50.33.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 0.9%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.50, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 2.40.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 34,791 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.78, for a total value of $1,731,895.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 159,327 shares of company stock valued at $7,497,758 over the last quarter. 18.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Royalty Pharma

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of RPRX. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 55,274,069 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,135,790,000 after purchasing an additional 11,110,115 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 24.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,212,694 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $960,064,000 after purchasing an additional 5,332,074 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter worth about $131,923,000. Dorsey Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma in the third quarter worth about $82,924,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 737.3% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 2,481,771 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $87,557,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,366 shares during the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Company 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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