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 note issued to investors on Saturday.

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

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $45.19 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.40 and a 200 day moving average of $38.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $26.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47 and a beta of 0.42. Royalty Pharma has a 52 week low of $29.66 and a 52 week high of $45.91.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Royalty Pharma

In related news, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 114,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.84, for a total value of $4,924,629.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 23,972 shares in the company, valued at $1,026,960.48. This trade represents a 82.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP George W. Lloyd sold 132,426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.34, for a total value of $5,077,212.84. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,170,028 shares of company stock worth $46,545,276. 18.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RPRX. Patient Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Patient Capital Management LLC now owns 3,333,675 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $128,813,000 after acquiring an additional 215,825 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Royalty Pharma by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 20,215 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank purchased a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at $217,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 59.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. 54.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.