Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) Short Interest Update

Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) was the target of a large drop in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 13,443,797 shares, a drop of 49.2% from the January 29th total of 26,462,455 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,434,841 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,434,841 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.09, for a total transaction of $821,800.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 20,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.29, for a total transaction of $872,856.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $990,691.65. This trade represents a 46.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 965,020 shares of company stock worth $38,670,657. Corporate insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 55,274,069 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,135,790,000 after acquiring an additional 11,110,115 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,104,309 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,201,870,000 after purchasing an additional 3,891,615 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,200,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $430,426,000 after purchasing an additional 42,800 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,649,641 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $411,502,000 after buying an additional 376,888 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Royalty Pharma by 2.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,176,504 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $299,494,000 after buying an additional 177,036 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on RPRX. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Royalty Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $45.00 price target on Royalty Pharma in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $48.67.

Royalty Pharma Trading Up 1.9%

RPRX traded up $0.85 on Friday, reaching $46.21. 4,176,935 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,627,540. The company has a market cap of $26.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.57 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Royalty Pharma has a one year low of $29.66 and a one year high of $46.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.86.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.13. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 32.38% and a return on equity of 28.21%. The business had revenue of $621.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.97 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Royalty Pharma will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.63%.

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.