Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s What Happened

Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 4,706,208 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 13% from the previous session’s volume of 4,152,292 shares.The stock last traded at $31.69 and had previously closed at $31.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $41.67.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.40. The company has a market capitalization of $18.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55 and a beta of 0.47.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.52%.

Institutional Trading of Royalty Pharma

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RPRX. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 13.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 60,468 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after buying an additional 6,955 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,257 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $20,765,000 after acquiring an additional 139,761 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Royalty Pharma by 81.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 69,071 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after acquiring an additional 31,055 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of Royalty Pharma by 5.2% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 43,714 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 69.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 785,567 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $20,715,000 after purchasing an additional 320,606 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.