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

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.46.

RYTM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $72.00 price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Oppenheimer started coverage on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 1,678 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total transaction of $99,723.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 101,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,013,483.98. The trade was a 1.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph Shulman sold 1,281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total transaction of $76,129.83. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,657 shares in the company, valued at $157,905.51. The trade was a 32.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 108,131 shares of company stock worth $5,781,098. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $649,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 433,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,730,000 after acquiring an additional 5,908 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 79.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 50,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,635,000 after acquiring an additional 22,306 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 307.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 14,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 10,882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 16.8% in the third quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,167,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,176,000 after purchasing an additional 167,700 shares during the last quarter.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $54.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.03. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.66 and a beta of 2.30. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $35.17 and a fifty-two week high of $68.58.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.72) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $41.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.48 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 230.07% and a negative return on equity of 367.36%. As a group, analysts forecast that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

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.