Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $138.2857.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on RYTM. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $133.00 price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, June 17th.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.9%

RYTM opened at $106.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a PE ratio of -34.06 and a beta of 1.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.79. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $74.50 and a 52 week high of $122.20.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.86) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $60.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.78 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 93.33% and a negative return on equity of 203.25%. The business’s revenue was up 83.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.81) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Lynn A. Tetrault sold 37,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total transaction of $3,711,840.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $702,240. This represents a 84.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,210,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $664,816,000 after buying an additional 1,214,489 shares in the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,666,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,618,000 after purchasing an additional 985,478 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 1,493.8% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 979,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,938,000 after purchasing an additional 918,212 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 123.2% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 918,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,323,000 after purchasing an additional 507,017 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 180.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 628,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,675,000 after purchasing an additional 404,183 shares in the last quarter.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.