Royalty Pharma Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 2,751 call options on the company. This is an increase of 532% compared to the typical volume of 435 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on RPRX. Citigroup cut their price target on Royalty Pharma from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $41.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 2.0% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 11,027,370 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $311,964,000 after purchasing an additional 213,900 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,516,262 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $269,215,000 after buying an additional 29,451 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,265,786 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $205,562,000 after buying an additional 417,490 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,033,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $85,809,000 after buying an additional 936,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 58.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,001,603 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $84,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103,341 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

RPRX traded up $0.33 during trading on Thursday, hitting $31.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,210,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,913,582. Royalty Pharma has a one year low of $24.05 and a one year high of $31.66. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $18.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07 and a beta of 0.47.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. 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 payout ratio is currently 43.52%.

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.