100,000 Shares in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX Acquired by Watchtower Advisors LP

Watchtower Advisors LP purchased a new position in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 100,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,603,000. Royalty Pharma accounts for about 2.1% of Watchtower Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 603.9% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 655,995 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $23,701,000 after buying an additional 562,799 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 55.1% in the second quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 34,263 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,234,000 after acquiring an additional 12,171 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 22.7% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 52,553 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,893,000 after purchasing an additional 9,718 shares in the last quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 201.5% in the 1st quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 31,756 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $989,000 after acquiring an additional 21,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 126.5% during the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,470,706 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $89,020,000 after buying an additional 1,380,115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $39.90 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.48, a quick ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $23.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.46. Royalty Pharma PLC has a 12 month low of $24.05 and a 12 month high of $41.24. The business’s 50-day moving average is $37.54 and its 200 day moving average is $36.22.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $609.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $765.01 million. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 26.36% and a net margin of 32.51%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 69,582 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.55, for a total transaction of $2,682,386.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,435.50. This represents a 57.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP George W. Lloyd sold 132,426 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.34, for a total transaction of $5,077,212.84. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 344,196 shares of company stock worth $13,344,707. 18.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on RPRX. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings cut Royalty Pharma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.00.

Royalty Pharma 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.