Needham & Company LLC Raises Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Price Target to $145.00

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $120.00 to $145.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 27.69% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $105.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.27.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

RYTM stock opened at $113.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a PE ratio of -36.63 and a beta of 1.96. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $45.90 and a 12 month high of $122.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.03.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.82) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.10). Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 110.32% and a negative return on equity of 433.21%. The company had revenue of $51.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.71 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Joseph Shulman sold 14,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.03, for a total value of $1,617,377.11. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $953,263.27. This trade represents a 62.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 27,000 shares of company stock worth $3,064,490. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 97.2% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 1,110.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 65.2% in the third quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 65.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 979 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter.

About Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the rare neuroendocrine diseases. The company's lead product candidate is IMCIVREE (setmelanotide), a rare melanocortin-4 receptor for the treatment of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1, leptin receptor (LEPR) deficiency obesity, and Bardet-Biedl and Alström syndrome.