We recently published a list of 8 Most Undervalued Healthcare Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Royalty Pharma Plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) stands against other most undervalued healthcare stocks to buy according to analysts.
Rising Healthcare Costs and the Impact of Tariffs on US-China Trade in the Healthcare Sector
Healthcare prices and expenditures have been rising in the United States. Healthcare spending in the United States climbed 7.5% from 2022 to $4.9 trillion in 2023, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The healthcare sector accounted for 17.6% of the US economy in 2023, up 17.4% from 2022. The two primary drivers of this rise are the expansion of private health insurance and Medicare.
As more and more US companies look to China for deals on the next promising chemical, whether in the obesity or cancer area, the effect of tariffs on this ongoing trend has become a major point of dispute in the healthcare business. On February 7, Carlo Rizzuto, managing director of Versant Ventures, discussed how tariffs affect healthcare on CNBC’s “Fast Money.” According to Rizzuto, tariffs could have two effects on the industry. The first would be goods created in China and released into the US or other markets. To understand how tariffs might affect such trade operations, the industry would need to observe how the tariffs are implemented in the market.
Second, and more specifically, China serves as a major base for contract production and research in the US healthcare sector. Therefore, anything that increases that cost is likely to make the market more challenging. The management of the healthcare industry, which is already under pressure from investors, will not be improved by cost increases.
Impact of China on Healthcare R&D and the Growing Potential of Undervalued Healthcare Stocks
The great majority of healthcare organizations use a Chinese CRO or manufacturing partner in some capacity during the research and development phase, according to Rizzuto, who discussed China’s significant influence in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. It, therefore, has a significant impact on how pharmaceutical and biotech businesses operate in the country. This pattern is quite frequent across all sizes of enterprises.
Simply said, healthcare companies are unable to reshore all of their externalized R&D and production to the United States due to the absence of the infrastructure necessary to manage the transfer. As a result, it is difficult to see how such a massive reshoring might take place. The costs to attain this goal can be calculated linearly with the number of tariffs implemented.
McKinsey projects that healthcare EBITDA will increase at a 7% CAGR from a baseline of $676 billion in 2023 to $987 billion in 2028. While growth is expected to be faster in some sectors (such as specialty pharmacy and HST), recovery from post-pandemic lows is expected to promote improvement in several categories. Because they enable payers and providers to function more efficiently in a complex environment, software platforms are vital to the healthcare ecosystem.
Technological innovation (such as generative AI and machine learning) continues to offer opportunities for stakeholders from all sectors by automating processes, promoting data connectivity, and generating actionable insights. Specialty pharmacy revenue is expected to expand significantly because of higher utilization and pipeline extension (as in cancer), according to McKinsey. The increased usage of specialty drugs is contributing to the continued growth of specialty pharmacy profit pools.
Our Methodology
For our methodology, we used a screener to filter healthcare stocks with a forward PE ratio of less than 15 and an analyst upside of over 20%. We then ranked the stocks based on the analyst upside as of March 30th, 2025.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A scientist in a laboratory looking through a microscope, surrounded by petri dishes and beakers while researching new biopharmaceutical advances.
Royalty Pharma Plc (NASDAQ:RPRX)
Price Target Upside: 41.60%
Royalty Pharma Plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) is a funder of innovation in the biopharmaceutical industry and a buyer of biopharmaceutical royalties. Through small and mid-cap biotech firms to multinational pharmaceutical companies, it works with innovators from academic institutions, research hospitals, and non-profits. By working with businesses to co-fund late-stage clinical studies and new product launches in exchange for future royalties, the company directly funds industry innovation. In addition, it indirectly funds innovation by purchasing current royalties from the original creators. The portfolio of Royalty Pharma Plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) comprises royalties in more than 35 marketed drugs, such as Pfizer’s Nurtec ODT, Novartis’ Promacta, AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson’s Imbruvica, and Johnson & Johnson’s Tremfya.
At the upper end of its guidance range, the company’s fiscal year 2024 portfolio receipts came to $2.8 billion. This represents a 13% increase, much beyond its original forecast of 5% to 9%. Royalty Pharma Plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) anticipates $2.9 billion to $3.05 billion in portfolio receipts in 2025. Its portfolio now includes four development space treatments and royalties on AD medication.
The FDA has approved Tremfya for ulcerative colitis, Cobenfy for schizophrenia, and Voranigo for brain cancer, among other favorable developments for the company’s portfolio. In addition to $230 million for share repurchases, it invested $2.8 billion to expand its holdings. A fresh $3 billion share repurchase plan was recently approved by its Board, and the business plans to buy back $2 billion of its shares in 2025.
Patient Capital Opportunity Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“While Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) is in the healthcare space, it is more like an investment firm that buys royalty assets in the healthcare space. The company has an extremely strong track record, running the business for over 20 years as a private fund before bringing it public. The market opportunity for external royalty funding has only grown as early-stage start-ups need funding and legacy players are looking to lower their debt levels. We think Royalty Pharma is perfectly positioned as the partner of choice. The company is disciplined, maintaining deal internal rate of returns (IRRs) in the low-teens despite the higher interest rate environment. We think as the company continues to deliver as a public company, the market will start paying attention.”
Overall, RPRX ranks 2nd on our list of most undervalued healthcare stocks to buy according to analysts. While we acknowledge the potential of healthcare companies, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than RPRX but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
