Royalty Pharma Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 4,237 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 344% compared to the typical volume of 954 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on RPRX shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $41.60.

Institutional Trading of Royalty Pharma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RPRX. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 16,968,321 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $432,862,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069,127 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter worth about $124,498,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter worth about $41,959,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 187.0% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,903,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $48,563,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,164,170 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $310,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136,800 shares during the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royalty Pharma Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of RPRX stock opened at $31.37 on Friday. Royalty Pharma has a 12-month low of $24.05 and a 12-month high of $34.20. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $32.44 and a 200-day moving average of $28.84. The company has a market capitalization of $18.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.47.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last released 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 24.40% and a net margin of 37.94%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Royalty Pharma will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. This is an increase from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is 60.69%.

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.