Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 4,420,897 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 54% from the previous session’s volume of 2,868,663 shares.The stock last traded at $33.07 and had previously closed at $33.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, TD Cowen raised shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $41.60.

Royalty Pharma Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.78. The stock has a market cap of $18.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.47.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.16. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 37.94% and a return on equity of 24.40%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.69%.

Institutional Trading of Royalty Pharma

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,539 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 876,268 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,354,000 after buying an additional 104,338 shares in the last quarter. 111 Capital bought a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter worth about $855,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter worth about $246,000. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,835,000. Institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

About Royalty Pharma

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.