Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Needham & Company LLC

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $50.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 30.62% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on RYTM. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $47.20.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RYTM opened at $38.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of -11.96 and a beta of 1.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.88. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $15.50 and a one year high of $52.57.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.70) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.70). The business had revenue of $24.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.38 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 238.50% and a negative return on equity of 96.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 175.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.75) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph Shulman sold 71,774 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.38, for a total transaction of $3,615,974.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,686 shares in the company, valued at $135,320.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Rhythm Pharmaceuticals news, insider Joseph Shulman sold 71,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.38, for a total value of $3,615,974.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,686 shares in the company, valued at $135,320.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yann Mazabraud sold 1,594 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.38, for a total transaction of $81,899.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $395,728.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 172,069 shares of company stock worth $7,626,355. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RYTM. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 392.8% during the first quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 1,571 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 30.4% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 86,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,768,000 after buying an additional 20,259 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,226,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,342,000 after buying an additional 212,370 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 139,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,427,000 after buying an additional 2,359 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $1,218,000.

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.