Christopher Hite Sells 150,000 Shares of Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Stock

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) EVP Christopher Hite sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.40, for a total value of $8,160,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 559,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,431,305.60. The trade was a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 2.8%

RPRX opened at $56.23 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $52.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. The company has a market cap of $32.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.25, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.43. Royalty Pharma PLC has a one year low of $34.08 and a one year high of $56.50.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.08. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 29.25% and a net margin of 33.88%.The business had revenue of $630.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $881.69 million. Analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LM Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Royalty Pharma during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 832 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 173.4% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 689 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 66.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on RPRX. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.71.

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.