Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) Receives $41.67 Average Target Price from Analysts

Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.67.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $124,498,000. Swedbank AB raised 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 valued at $310,308,000 after buying an additional 1,136,800 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Royalty Pharma by 58.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,001,603 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $84,915,000 after buying an additional 1,103,341 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,033,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $85,809,000 after acquiring an additional 936,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter worth $19,990,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

RPRX stock opened at $32.34 on Thursday. Royalty Pharma has a 1-year low of $24.05 and a 1-year high of $32.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $28.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.68. The firm has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76 and a beta of 0.49.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.16. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 24.65% and a net margin of 50.53%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Royalty Pharma will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

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

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.