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

Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 4,237 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 344% compared to the typical volume of 954 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royalty Pharma

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RPRX. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1,006.9% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 963 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 417.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,087 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co raised its position in Royalty Pharma by 3,953.3% during the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 187.1% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Royalty Pharma by 160.5% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,628 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.35% of the company's stock.

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Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of Royalty Pharma stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $31.13. The company had a trading volume of 7,631,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,121,245. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Royalty Pharma has a one year low of $24.05 and a one year high of $34.20. The firm has a market cap of $17.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.86.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.16. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 37.94% and a return on equity of 24.40%. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Royalty Pharma's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RPRX. TD Cowen raised shares of Royalty Pharma to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Royalty Pharma in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.60.

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.