Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Price Target to $144.00

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $143.00 to $144.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 52.21% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on RYTM. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $139.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. HC Wainwright dropped their price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $143.00 price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $131.00 price target on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.19.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RYTM traded up $2.30 on Wednesday, hitting $94.61. 113,520 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 779,109. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $87.97 and its 200 day moving average is $99.44. The company has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of -30.23 and a beta of 1.94. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $55.31 and a 1-year high of $122.20.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.86) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $60.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.78 million. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 103.57% and a negative return on equity of 266.56%. The company’s revenue was up 83.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.81) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals will post -3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Hunter C. Smith sold 4,385 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $444,025.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 110,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,190,445.12. This represents a 3.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Christopher Paul German sold 5,614 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total transaction of $502,789.84. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,329.60. This trade represents a 97.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 24,020 shares of company stock valued at $2,375,805 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RYTM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,996,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,589,000 after buying an additional 1,407,313 shares during the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,666,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,618,000 after acquiring an additional 985,478 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 918,212 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $60,417,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 123.2% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 918,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,323,000 after acquiring an additional 507,017 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.