Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) Short Interest Update

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 29,020,000 shares, an increase of 39.9% from the May 15th total of 20,740,000 shares. Currently, 8.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,900,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.9 days.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Shares of RPRX traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $34.91. 3,957,630 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,631,742. The company has a market cap of $19.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company's 50-day moving average price is $33.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.15. Royalty Pharma has a 52-week low of $24.05 and a 52-week high of $35.38.

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

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on RPRX. Wall Street Zen lowered Royalty Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Royalty Pharma in a report on Friday, May 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 42.6% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 5,069,127 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,312,551 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $186,846,000 after buying an additional 46,765 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $124,498,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,673,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $93,703,000 after acquiring an additional 640,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 270.4% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,623,134 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $112,788,000 after acquiring an additional 2,644,923 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.35% of the company's stock.

About Royalty Pharma

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.