Aurora Investment Counsel Increases Stock Position in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Aurora Investment Counsel boosted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 15.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,929 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,544 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $1,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Royalty Pharma by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,167 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royalty Pharma in the second quarter worth about $1,980,000. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in Royalty Pharma in the second quarter valued at about $715,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in Royalty Pharma by 2,974.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 338,675 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,931,000 after purchasing an additional 327,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Royalty Pharma during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,579,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:RPRX opened at $28.29 on Tuesday. Royalty Pharma plc has a 1-year low of $25.20 and a 1-year high of $31.66. The company’s fifty day moving average is $28.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 9.35 and a current ratio of 9.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.46.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.01. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 23.61%. The firm had revenue of $537.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on RPRX shares. StockNews.com upgraded Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Royalty Pharma from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.00.

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.