Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Royalty Pharma hit a new 52-week high of $56.29, reflecting strong recent momentum in the stock. The shares have also been trading above both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts remain generally bullish: UBS and Citigroup both raised their price targets and kept buy ratings, while the stock’s overall consensus rating is a Buy with a $53.71 average target. One rating firm did trim its view slightly, but the broader analyst sentiment is still positive.
• The company posted earnings above expectations last quarter, but revenue came in below estimates. Royalty Pharma also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, equal to a 1.7% annual yield.

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $56.29 and last traded at $56.3110, with a volume of 2862 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $55.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.71.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $50.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.31, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.43.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $630.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $881.69 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 29.25% and a net margin of 33.88%. On average, 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 64,399 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.98, for a total transaction of $3,476,258.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gregory Norden sold 3,045 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $161,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 191,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,165,559. This represents a 1.56% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 199,185 shares of company stock valued at $10,082,926 in the last 90 days. 18.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RPRX. LM Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Royalty Pharma by 868.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 832 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Royalty Pharma by 173.4% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 689 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% 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.

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