Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.67.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $26.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 9.35 and a quick ratio of 9.35. Royalty Pharma has a 1-year low of $25.20 and a 1-year high of $31.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $27.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.55.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 23.61%. The firm had revenue of $537.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $600.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Royalty Pharma will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is 74.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,140,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,268,000 after purchasing an additional 17,000 shares during the last quarter. S&CO Inc. grew its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 362,485 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,254,000 after buying an additional 4,220 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 96.9% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 343,150 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,708,000 after acquiring an additional 168,905 shares during the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 67.4% in the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 94,066 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,661,000 after acquiring an additional 37,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 3.7% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,091 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.