Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Reaches New 12-Month High on Earnings Beat

Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $32.72 and last traded at $32.15, with a volume of 1138540 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.72.

The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.16. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 24.65% and a net margin of 50.53%.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. This is a positive change from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is currently 43.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on RPRX. StockNews.com upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen upgraded Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royalty Pharma presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,164,170 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $310,308,000 after buying an additional 1,136,800 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,516,262 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $269,215,000 after buying an additional 29,451 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,312,551 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $186,846,000 after buying an additional 46,765 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $124,498,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,131,628 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $79,888,000 after buying an additional 130,025 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.68. The company has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76 and a beta of 0.49.

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.