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

Shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $133.1875.

RYTM has been the topic of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 4.1%

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $87.38 on Friday. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $45.90 and a 52 week high of $122.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of -28.10 and a beta of 2.06.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $57.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.16 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 103.57% and a negative return on equity of 266.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.72) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rhythm Pharmaceuticals news, CAO Christopher Paul German sold 5,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total value of $502,789.84. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,329.60. This represents a 97.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 4,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $444,025.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 110,512 shares in the company, valued at $11,190,445.12. This represents a 3.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,267 shares of company stock worth $2,719,955. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RYTM. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 148.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,085,000 after acquiring an additional 23,506 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 6.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 35,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 25.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 184,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,634,000 after purchasing an additional 37,524 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $277,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $245,000.

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.