Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Hits New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $36.56 and last traded at $36.50, with a volume of 216635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RPRX. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royalty Pharma presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.33.

Royalty Pharma Stock Down 0.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $34.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.40. The company has a market cap of $20.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.50.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $839.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $724.69 million. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 48.23% and a return on equity of 24.71%. On average, analysts predict that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.57%.

Institutional Trading of Royalty Pharma

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in Royalty Pharma by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 16,968,321 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $432,862,000 after acquiring an additional 5,069,127 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $124,498,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 270.4% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,623,134 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $112,788,000 after purchasing an additional 2,644,923 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,959,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 187.0% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,903,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $48,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240,384 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company's stock.

Royalty Pharma Company Profile

Royalty Pharma plc operates as a buyer of biopharmaceutical royalties and a funder of innovations in the biopharmaceutical industry in the United States. It is also involved in the identification, evaluation, and acquisition of royalties on various biopharmaceutical therapies. In addition, the company collaborates with innovators from academic institutions, research hospitals and not-for-profits, small and mid-cap biotechnology companies, and pharmaceutical companies.