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

Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 2,751 call options on the company. This is an increase of 532% compared to the average daily volume of 435 call options.

Royalty Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of RPRX opened at $30.03 on Wednesday. Royalty Pharma has a 1 year low of $24.05 and a 1 year high of $31.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.09.

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 paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. This is an increase from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is currently 45.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen raised shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Royalty Pharma from $60.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RPRX. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Royalty Pharma during the 4th quarter worth $486,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Royalty Pharma in the fourth quarter valued at $2,355,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 30,735 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $784,000 after buying an additional 8,913 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,471 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,460,515 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,705,000 after acquiring an additional 70,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

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.