Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.86.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $62.32 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $58.46 and a 200 day moving average of $52.75. The company has a market capitalization of $35.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.98, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.44. Royalty Pharma has a 1-year low of $34.08 and a 1-year high of $62.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 2.80.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $674.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $758.93 million. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 32.14% and a return on equity of 30.01%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Royalty Pharma will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royalty Pharma

In related news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 9,099 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.88, for a total value of $508,452.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher Hite sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.40, for a total transaction of $8,160,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 559,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,431,305.60. This represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 398,197 shares of company stock worth $22,513,280. 18.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 367.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 203,760 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,342,000 after purchasing an additional 160,191 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Royalty Pharma by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,990 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 13,489 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the first quarter valued at $264,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 41.0% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 47,992 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 13,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,559,378 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $56,184,000 after purchasing an additional 274,960 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Company Profile

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.