Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX)

Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 4,237 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 344% compared to the typical daily volume of 954 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, TD Cowen raised Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $41.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in Royalty Pharma by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 16,968,321 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $432,862,000 after buying an additional 5,069,127 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Royalty Pharma in the 4th quarter valued at about $124,498,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,959,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 187.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,903,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $48,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,164,170 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $310,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,800 shares in the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royalty Pharma Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ RPRX opened at $31.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.24 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $32.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Royalty Pharma has a 12 month low of $24.05 and a 12 month high of $34.20.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 earnings per share 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 expect that Royalty Pharma will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. This is a boost from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio is 60.69%.

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.