Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $126.4667.

A number of analysts have weighed in on RYTM shares. Oppenheimer cut Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Citizens Jmp increased their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of RYTM opened at $110.00 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $107.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.80. The stock has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.48 and a beta of 1.96. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $45.90 and a 12 month high of $122.20.

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

Insider Activity at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Pamela J. Cramer sold 3,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total transaction of $371,850.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,814 shares in the company, valued at $2,310,354. This represents a 13.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Shulman sold 14,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.03, for a total value of $1,617,377.11. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $953,263.27. This represents a 62.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 30,350 shares of company stock worth $3,436,340 over the last three months. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RYTM. Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 396.6% in the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 38,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,051,000 after acquiring an additional 30,926 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $7,477,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $9,207,000. PDT Partners LLC raised its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 134.5% in the 1st quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 102,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,413,000 after purchasing an additional 58,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC raised its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 36,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 5,949 shares during the last quarter.

About Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing targeted therapies for rare genetic diseases of obesity and metabolic dysfunction. The company’s research focuses on the melanocortin‐4 receptor (MC4R) pathway, which plays a central role in regulating appetite, energy expenditure and body weight. Using proprietary peptide technology, Rhythm aims to provide precision treatments to patients with specific genetic variants that disrupt normal weight regulation.

The company’s lead investigational product, setmelanotide, is a selective MC4R agonist designed to restore signaling in patients with deficiencies in genes such as POMC, LEPR and PCSK1.