Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.60.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Royalty Pharma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Leerink Partners set a $45.00 target price on Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 10th.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $40.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.48, a current ratio of 3.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.19 billion, a PE ratio of 30.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.43. Royalty Pharma has a twelve month low of $27.47 and a twelve month high of $41.70. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.28.

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

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Insider Activity at Royalty Pharma

In related news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.32, for a total transaction of $786,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,932,000. This trade represents a 16.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 69,582 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $2,669,165.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 43,510 shares in the company, valued at $1,669,043.60. This trade represents a 61.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 846,511 shares of company stock worth $33,011,004 over the last three months. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 603.9% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Watchtower Advisors LP bought a new stake in Royalty Pharma during the second quarter worth $3,603,000. World Investment Advisors purchased a new position in Royalty Pharma in the third quarter worth $1,702,000. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new position in Royalty Pharma in the 3rd quarter valued at $933,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR increased its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 7,752.8% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 34,081 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 33,647 shares during the last quarter. 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.