Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Given New $148.00 Price Target at Needham & Company LLC

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $145.00 to $148.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 46.01% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on RYTM. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $114.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Oppenheimer cut Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp increased their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.00.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $3.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $101.37. The stock had a trading volume of 123,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 597,745. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a PE ratio of -32.59 and a beta of 2.00. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $45.90 and a fifty-two week high of $122.20. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.97.

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 firm had revenue of $51.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.71 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 433.21% and a negative net margin of 110.32%. On average, research analysts forecast that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Joseph Shulman sold 14,437 shares of the company’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 approximately $953,263.27. This represents a 62.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Pamela J. Cramer sold 3,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value of $371,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,814 shares in the company, valued at $2,310,354. This represents a 13.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 30,350 shares of company stock valued at $3,436,340 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 39.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,996,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407,313 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake 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 valued at $98,938,000 after buying an additional 918,212 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 445.5% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 783,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,513,000 after acquiring an additional 639,919 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $60,417,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $21,548,000.

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.