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

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

RPRX has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday. Leerink Partners set a $45.00 price objective on Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group raised Royalty Pharma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Royalty Pharma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.67.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $45.19 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.27. Royalty Pharma has a 12 month low of $29.66 and a 12 month high of $45.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 3.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.42.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $621.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $839.97 million. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 28.21%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Royalty Pharma will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of Royalty Pharma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.09, for a total value of $821,800.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 20,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.29, for a total value of $872,856.27. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,885 shares in the company, valued at $990,691.65. This represents a 46.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,309,216 shares of company stock worth $52,015,364 in the last ninety days. 18.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 603.9% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 655,995 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $23,701,000 after purchasing an additional 562,799 shares in the last quarter. Watchtower Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the second quarter valued at $3,603,000. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the third quarter valued at $933,000. World Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma in the third quarter valued at $1,702,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its stake 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 worth $1,202,000 after buying an additional 33,647 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 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.