Investors Purchase High Volume of Royalty Pharma Call Options (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 2,751 call options on the company. This is an increase of 532% compared to the typical volume of 435 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RPRX. 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 worth $84,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,341 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 44.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,033,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $85,809,000 after purchasing an additional 936,900 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Royalty Pharma during the third quarter worth about $14,898,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 6.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,265,786 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $205,562,000 after purchasing an additional 417,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 2,974.4% during the second quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 338,675 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,931,000 after purchasing an additional 327,659 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RPRX traded up $0.04 on Tuesday, reaching $30.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,887,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,070,075. The stock's 50-day moving average is $26.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.09. Royalty Pharma has a 52-week low of $24.05 and a 52-week high of $31.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 4.36 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 a boost from Royalty Pharma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.60%.

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.