Insider Selling: Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) CEO Sells 50,000 Shares of Stock

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RYTM) CEO David Meeker sold 50,000 shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.67, for a total transaction of $5,133,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 239,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,564,618.86. The trade was a 17.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of RYTM stock traded down $2.27 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $102.44. The stock had a trading volume of 771,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 438,820. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.21. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $74.50 and a one year high of $122.20. The firm has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of -32.94 and a beta of 1.97.

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.08. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 159.87% and a negative net margin of 85.59%.The business had revenue of $71.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.75) earnings per share. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 46.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RYTM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upped their target price on Rhythm Pharmaceuticals from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.67.

Institutional Trading of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 10,703.5% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,109,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $789,352,000 after acquiring an additional 7,043,556 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $683,601,000. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $351,838,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $102,752,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals by 180.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 628,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,675,000 after purchasing an additional 404,183 shares in the last quarter.

About Rhythm Pharmaceuticals

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for rare genetic diseases of obesity and related metabolic disorders. The company’s research is centered on the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) pathway, which plays an important role in regulating hunger and energy balance.

Rhythm’s primary product is IMCIVREE (setmelanotide), an MC4R agonist. In the United States, IMCIVREE is approved for chronic weight management in adults and children at least 2 years old with obesity and certain genetically confirmed conditions affecting the MC4R pathway, including pro-opiomelanocortin, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1 and leptin receptor deficiencies, as well as Bardet-Biedl syndrome.